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Reps. Espaillat, Salazar, and García Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging DHS to Re-Designate TPS for Venezuelans
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), in collaboration with Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL-04), led a bipartisan letter urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expeditiously utilize its authority to redesignate, for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Venezuelan nationals in the United States who have been continuously residing or physically present since September 2023. This is the third time in the past year that Rep. Espaillat has called on the administration to redesignate Venezuelan immigrants to TPS.
“The situation in Venezuela is unlivable as innocent people flee government corruption, human rights violations, violence, and hyperinflation,” said Rep. Espailllat. “In recognition of the humanitarian crisis they are fleeing, newly-arrived Venezuelan immigrants and their families that are seeking refuge in the United States deserve to be treated with the utmost compassion, and deserve Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to protect them from deportation.”
Rep. Espaillat continued, “In my home of New York City, over 40% of all recently arrived migrants hail from Venezuela. Extending TPS to these deserving migrants would provide them with immediate work authorization in the U.S., allowing them to contribute to the U.S. economy while alleviating the financial strain on cities like New York—and numerous other states and cities across the nation—that are currently providing care to migrants and asylum seekers. These Venezuelan families want the freedom to live without fear and the opportunity to work to support their families. Re-designating these new Venezuelan immigrants for TPS would provide them with the necessary support and opportunities to do just that.”
“The failure of the socialist Maduro regime is responsible for the largest refugee crisis in the world with over seven million Venezuelans having left the country since 1999,” said Rep. Salazar. “There are hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United State eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) but many more who are left out. The Department of Homeland Security must redesignate TPS for migrants who are continuing to flee the bloody and violent regime of Nicolás Maduro.”
“The Biden administration must redesignate TPS for the thousands of Venezuelans living here who fled the political and economic instability created in part by our own foreign policy,” said Rep. García. “I’m glad that President Biden has taken a number of actions this year on TPS, and he must take this urgent action to protect displaced Venezuelans.”
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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
Media inquiries: Candace Person at [email protected]
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