Lawmakers seek Venezuelan TPS designation

Citing ongoing violence, deteriorating security, and humanitarian crisis circumstances, a group of lawmakers recently requested that the Trump Administration designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 18 other Senators in forwarding correspondence to the President seeking the action, which they said would ensure that Venezuelan nationals currently present in the United States are not forced to presently return to Venezuela in the wake of Nicolás Maduro illegitimate regime.

“As the United States and our partners in the international community have condemned the illegitimate Maduro regime’s brutal campaign of repression, granting TPS to Venezuela is a concrete measure your Administration can immediately take to alleviate the suffering of innocent Venezuelan civilians and demonstrate our nation’s commitment to supporting a safe democratic transition in Venezuela so that individuals can safely return home soon,” the legislators wrote.

The lawmakers maintain in the letter TPS can be granted to nationals of another country who are currently residing in the United States if returning to their country would pose a serious threat to their personal safety because of ongoing armed conflict, the temporary effects of an environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.

“Those who speak in opposition to the discredited and illegitimate Maduro cabal face arrest, torture, or even death,” the lawmakers concluded. “The ensuing human suffering has contributed to the largest refugee and migrant crisis in the Western Hemisphere.”