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When Joe Biden, in one of his final acts as president, approved a sweeping extension of “Temporary Protected Status” to 600,000 Venezuelans, most Americans could not know that his official justification was based almost entirely on a lie.TPS prevents deportations for 18 months, ever renewable, on grounds that home countries are simply too dangerous to send the migrants back.“It was determined that an 18-month TPS extension is warranted based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro regime,” a January 10, 2025 Department of Homeland Security press release announced, going on to cite high levels of crime and violence and lack of access to food, medicine, healthcare, water, electricity, and fuel.Venezuela certainly is terrible, but left unsaid is that most of the deportation-protected Venezuelans hadn’t been living in Venezuela.Almost every one of the thousands of Venezuelans crossing Biden’s open border already lived in perfectly safe, prosperous other countries that had granted them asylum, residency, and work authorizations, or otherwise tolerated their presence off-book — such as Colombia, Ecuador and Chile.The only reason hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living outside Venezuela left was because they realized Biden would let them into the US unchecked.They came for higher wages — not due to any danger they faced.I’ve personally interviewed hundreds of Venezuelans these past four years.Not one of them told me they were coming from Venezuela.“I looooved Ecuador! It’s beautiful.
The people are very kind.They have a lot of values.
And the fruit, in particular, is very good! Anything with onions is very good!” said one well-appointed Venezuelan woman I met in Juarez who had just received U.S.permission to enter on a humanitarian protection permit.
“It’s a very generous place, a very beautiful place.”She positively...