Florida Sen. Rick Scott is defending the Trump administration's decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans in the United States, saying the decision is a result of former President Biden's "abuse" of the program.
The senator, who represents almost 400,000 Venezuelans who now live in the Sunshine State, told The Latin Times he stands with President Trump's recent decision.
"President Trump took action to protect vulnerable Venezuelans during his first term— but then former president Joe Biden abused the TPS program, opened our border and took action that dismantled our immigration system and our ability to fully vet true protection seekers," Scott said in a statement.
To illustrate his statement, Scott drew attention to cases that have gathered national attention like that of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was murdered last year by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant. Her case led to the introduction and recent passing of the Laken Riley Act, a bill with bipartisan support that authorizes the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.
"The weak open border policies of Biden and Democrats allowed the illegitimate dictators like Maduro, Diaz-Canel and Ortega to take full advantage and weaponize migration by opening their jails and sending dangerous criminals, like Tren de Aragua, to terrorize our country," Scott said. "Innocent Americans like Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray have paid the price."
"I stand with the people of Venezuela fighting for their freedom and support protections for legitimate persecution claims that are fully vetted and serving the best interests of the United States, not exploiting the system. Ultimately, the US would be safer with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as free democracies and not failed states in our hemisphere," he continued.
Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife, giving people authorization to work in increments of up to 18 months. About 1 million immigrants from 17 countries are protected by TPS, with Venezuelans being among the largest beneficiaries, according to The Associated Press.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem issued a notice Monday to end the program. The notice will be officially published in the Federal Register Wednesday and take effect 60 days after that.
The notice stated that the administration has concluded that Venezuela "no longer continues to meet the conditions" for its 2023 TPS designation, which was meant to be valid until April. "The Secretary has determined in its contrary to the national interest to permit the covered Venezuelan nationals to remain in the United States," the memo read. Some 350,000 Venezuelans are covered by the 2023 designation, the overall figure for all nationals being over 600,000.
However, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans across the country, and in Florida particularly, have disagreed with the decision, with some saying they fear for their lives if they were to return to their home country.
"We are human beings who work here, who are small business owners," Adelys Ferro, the director of the Venezuelan American Caucus told NPR. She says Venezuelans exiled in the U.S. "actually believe that the TPS was the right way to get legal in the United States, to have our work permits, to have a social security number, to be able to buy a house."
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