Victor Guillen: Biden administration must expand TPS for Venezuelans

Hundreds of thousands of hardworking Venezuelans could gain temporary legal status in the U.S. if the Biden administration chooses to redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans like myself.

TPS is a humanitarian program that provides temporary legal status to live and work in the U.S for people fleeing emergencies such as war or natural disasters in their home countries. Many of those protected remain in the U.S. for years because the conditions in their home countries never improve. In the case of Venezuelans, the severe economic, political and humanitarian crisis of the last several years forced many of us to leave our homes in search of a better life. The program currently protects over 230,000 Venezuelan migrants.

According to the 2020-21 National Survey of Living Conditions , conducted by researchers at Andres Bello Catholic University in Venezuela , 95% of Venezuelans live in poverty, and three-quarters of the population live in extreme poverty, which increased from 68% to 77% after the covid-19 pandemic. The minimum wage in the country is around $3 a month, and the inflation rate is 170%, the highest in the world.

My close family and relatives still living in Venezuela experience food insecurity, lack of access to health care, and shortages of water, electricity and gas. According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance , salaries in Venezuela are so low that people can only afford to buy 30% of their essential goods.

As if that were not enough, President Nicolas Maduro’s totalitarian government is responsible for brutal crackdowns on political dissenters, state censorship, lack of free elections, government corruption and human rights violations. For these reasons, Venezuela is currently the second-largest displacement crisis in the world, according to the UN Refugee Agency, only behind Syria.

The Biden administration designated TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months, from March 2021 to September 2022. As the humanitarian crisis continues and the deadline to extend TPS for Venezuelans approaches, President Biden must use his authority to renew the program and change the eligibility date for Venezuelans seeking TPS to afford protections to more recent arrivals.

I know countless Venezuelans who could not apply for TPS relief because they happened to arrive in the U.S. after March 2021. In many cases, a few days made all the difference between having legal status and facing deportation. We must keep in mind that the most recent Venezuelan arrivals, those not eligible to apply for TPS, are precisely the ones who need TPS relief the most.

The Biden administration knows that a redesignation would protect at least 250,000 additional Venezuelans who are fleeing from the same humanitarian crisis as those who came just months before them.

As the situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate, the administration has the moral responsibility to take a firm stance on this issue, expand eligibility to more Venezuelans, and extend the program for 18 more months.

I am fortunate enough to have fallen on the lucky side of an arbitrary line, but my friends, family and countless others who simply want to live their lives in peace and raise their families deserve the same opportunities that I have received, and I urge Biden to give them a chance.

Victor Guillen is a researcher of public policy at Temple University, where he is pursuing a master’s degree in the same field, and a member of the Pennsylvania Democratic Latino Caucus.