With temporary status for Venezuelans, the Biden administration turns to a familiar tool

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Biden administration’s grant of temporary legal status to nearly 500,000 Venezuelans already in the United States may complicate its messaging abroad. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned in May that anyone contemplating a journey to the U.S. would be swiftly deported if found to be in the country illegally. But his expansion of Temporary Protected Status this week applies to Venezuelans who arrived by July 31. Critics say it encourages others to come, figuring that warnings against illegal entry ring hollow. But others say Venezuelans will come with or without prospects for temporary status.