By Maria Santarelli

Venezuela is in a socioeconomic, humanitarian, and political crisis. Since the fraudulent Venezuelan presidential elections in 2018, tensions between Venezuela and the United States have hastened, with the Trump administration expanding economic sanctions as deterrence against authoritarianism.[1] Today, the U.S. government maintains a maximum pressure approach toward the Maduro regime while backing the proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaidó. The U.S. government pledges support to the systematically oppressed Venezuelan people and disburses large sums to humanitarian assistance programs.[2] Since 2017, the United States has provided $610.6 million in humanitarian assistance to support countries sheltering Venezuelans, including $76 million for humanitarian relief in Venezuela and $13.7 million for COVID-19.[3] The United States is the largest donor to the Venezuelan crisis, but it must make more concentrated efforts to mitigate the suffering of Venezuelans within its own borders.[4] One option is granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelan nationals, a legal attempt that Congress failed to pass in 2019.[5]

According to the United Nations, over 4.5 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014.[6] The erosion of check-and-balance mechanisms and decreased levels of transparency are alarming indicators of the rise of authoritarianism since Maduro came to power in 2013. Although the international community deemed the 2018 presidential elections fraudulent, Maduro claimed victory for his second six-year term.[7] Political factors, as well as shrinking socio-economic opportunities, incentivized mass outflows of Venezuelans to wealthier countries, including the United States.

Human rights activists and organizations vigorously advocated for TPS in light of the Maduro regime’s documented abuses of violence, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detentions of civilian protestors.[8] Under U.S. law, TPS is a temporary immigration status designed to support nationals of countries confronting extraordinary but temporary conditions that make it difficult and unsafe for them to return to their country.[9] The humanitarian protections granted under TPS provide work permits and protection from deportation, while enabling the beneficiaries a stable legal status for up to eighteen months with possible extension. However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security never used its authority to grant TPS for Venezuelans.

In January 2019, the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives introduced the “Venezuela Temporary Protected Status Act of 2019” to grant TPS to Venezuelans. It passed in the House, but the Senate’s Republican majority blocked the vote in July 2019. The effort to pass the bill by unanimous consent failed on grounds that it included reforms to the entire TPS program without bipartisan support.[10] This is puzzling given that the Senate has systematically approved large funding for assistance programs to Venezuela, including $30 million to assist democracy programs, $400 million in humanitarian aid, and $17.5 million to support Venezuelan elections. Bipartisan approval seemingly only converges when directing resources outwards. When Venezuela ranks higher in the priorities of the national immigration agenda, it is suddenly problematic.

Venezuelans seeking refuge and protection in the United States are left struggling with antagonistic policies. Over 663 Venezuelan exiles were deported from the United States between June 2017 and May 2019, and about 800 others have pending deportation orders.[11] Latest estimates show that the United States has registered over 104,000 pending asylum claims, which could all face deportation upon rejection.[12] Since the refusal of the 2019 bill, the humanitarian and political situation in Venezuela has worsened, as the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela found evidence of crimes against humanity, arbitrary detentions, and disappearances.[13] Further, the COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the collapsed Venezuelan healthcare system.[14] Venezuela is ill-equipped to cope with this global shock, and Venezuelans in the United States should not be forced to return to a country that cannot guarantee safety and security.

Granting TPS is in line with U.S. security interests by assuring stability in the region.[15] The influx of Venezuelan refugees to neighbors destabilizes less advanced economies. Latin America’s growth is projected to shrink by 15 percent due to the pandemic, and Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis complicates the regional path of post-pandemic recovery.[16]

The United States should consider playing an active role in the largest exodus in modern times through extending TPS.[17] This legal pathway may weaken Maduro’s rhetoric of Venezuelan unity against the West, given that the population he rules could seek relief on the shores of the regime’s imperialistic enemy. Such a development would be part of a larger action frame seeking to isolate Maduro and weaken his regime’s international credibility. This would also bolster U.S. calls for a democratic transition in Venezuela by providing Venezuelans already on U.S. soil with a temporary way to remain safe from an oppressive regime.

During the 2020 U.S. presidential race, both candidates confirmed that the Venezuelan crisis was a priority. President Trump perpetuated the maximum pressure approach, but President-elect Biden committed to extending TPS to Venezuelans “seeking relief from the humanitarian crisis brought on by the Maduro regime,” and more broadly pledged to expand legal pathways to migrants and asylum seekers already in the United States.[18] The incoming Biden-Harris administration needs to demonstrate its concrete commitment to the Venezuelan cause, a matter also dependent on the 2021 composition of U.S. Congress.

As a top benefactor to the Venezuelan crisis and an advocate for national democratic transition, the United States should strengthen its commitment by granting TPS to Venezuelans.[19] This would not only benefit Venezuelan nationals in the short-term but would also encourage realigning U.S.-Venezuelan relations.

About the Author

Maria Santarelli is an MA candidate in international affairs at Boston University, specializing in global economic affairs. Her interests lie in poverty alleviation, multilateralism, and the development puzzle of Latin America.

Endnotes

1.  “Venezuela-Related Sanctions,” U.S. Department of State, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.state.gov/venezuela-related-sanctions/.

2. “Remarks by President Trump in a Multilateral Meeting on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” The White House, September 25, 2019, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-multilateral-meeting-bolivarian-republic-venezuela-new-york-ny/.

3. Clare Ribando Seelke, “Venezuela: Political Crisis and U.S. Policy,” Congressional Research Service, September 15, 2020, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF10230.pdf.

4. “U.S. Relations With Venezuela,” U.S. Department of State, July 6, 2020, https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-venezuela/.

5. “Temporary Protected Status,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status.

6. “Venezuela Situation,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/venezuela-emergency.html.

7. “U.S. and Concerned Nations Stand Together for Democratic Change in Venezuela,” U.S. Department of State, August 14, 2020, https://www.state.gov/u-s-and-concerned-nations-stand-together-for-democratic-change-in-venezuela/.

8. “215+ National, State, and Local Organizations Urge Administration to Designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status,” Catholic Legal Immigration Network, March 13, 2019, https://cliniclegal.org/resources/humanitarian-relief/215-national-state-and-local-organizations-urge-administration.’; “UN Human Rights Report on Venezuela Urges Immediate Measures to Halt and Remedy Grave Rights Violations,” Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, July 4, 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24788&LangID=E.

9. “Temporary Protected Status: An Overview,” American Immigration Council, February 2, 2020, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/temporary-protected-status-overview.

10. “Democrats Block Sen. Rick Scott Amendment to Grant TPS to Venezuelans, Reform Program,” Senator Rick Scott, September 25, 2019, https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/democrats-block-sen-rick-scott-amendment-grant-tps-venezuelans-reform-program.

11. Andres Oppenheimer, “If Trump Cares So Much About Venezuelans in the U.S., Why Does He Deny Them TPS?” Miami Herald, August 19, 2020, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andres-oppenheimer/article245086200.html.

12. “Response for Venezuelans,” Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, accessed October 29, 2020, https://r4v.info/en/situations/platform.

13. “Venezuela: UN Report Highlights Criminal Control of Mining Area, and Wider Justice Concerns,” UN News, July 15, 2020, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068391.

14. “Venezuela: Urgent Aid Needed to Combat Covid-19,” Human Rights Watch, May 26, 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/26/venezuela-urgent-aid-needed-combat-covid-19.

15. “At a Glance: H.R. 549 Venezuela TPS Act of 2019,” Congressional Budget Office, June 27, 2019, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-06/hr549.pdf.

16. “World Economic Outlook Reports,” International Monetary Fund, accessed October 29, 2020, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO.

17. Dany Bahar and Meagan Dooley, “Venezuela Refugee Crisis to Become the Largest and Most Underfunded in Modern History,” The Brookings Institution, December 9, 2019, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/12/09/venezuela-refugee-crisis-to-become-the-largest-and-most-underfunded-in-modern-history/.

18. “The Biden Agenda for the Latino Community,” Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, accessed October 2, 2020, https://joebiden.com/latino-agenda/; Isabel Soto and Whitney Appel, “Comparing Trump and Biden on Immigration,” American Action Forum, September 8, 2020, https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/comparing-trump-and-biden-on-immigration/.

19. “Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela,” U.S. Department of State, March 31, 2020, https://www.state.gov/democratic-transition-framework-for-venezuela/.