Biden Government grants TPS to Venezuelans

(Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

(CNN) -

The Biden government granted humanitarian protection to Venezuelans on Monday, allowing some 300,000 people to apply and remain legally in the United States, senior administration officials said.

Venezuelans in the United States will have the opportunity to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a form of humanitarian aid that can be granted when it is deemed unsafe to return to their country of origin.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, will designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, until September 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

This designation is due to "extraordinary and temporary conditions" in Venezuela, which include widespread hunger and malnutrition, a growing influence and presence of non-state armed groups, repression and a dilapidated infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security said.

President Joe Biden "has made it very clear that Nicolás Maduro is a dictator, and the May 2018 elections were fraudulent and illegitimate," a senior administration official said Monday.

Biden plans to provide "robust humanitarian assistance," in particular, to countries in the region that have been affected by the more than 5 million Venezuelans who have fled their country, the official added.

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An administration official acknowledged that this designation would likely incite smugglers and others to claim that "the border is now open", saying "that is not the case."

All travel and admission restrictions remain in effect at the United States borders, the official said.

On his last day in office, President Trump issued a memorandum offering protections for Venezuelans known as deferred forced departure.

Trump's appointment remains in effect.

However, TPS has a legal basis.

"It is another way to be able to provide protection to people," said a senior official, adding that it is the person's decision on how they want to apply.

CNN previously reported that a growing group of Venezuelans who fled to the United States are in legal limbo.

Lawmakers previously weighed options to temporarily protect Venezuelans from deportation.

TPS