DHS expands Trump-era policy to Venezuelans while opening new pathway to US

The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday announced it would seek to block irregular migration from Venezuela by expanding a Trump-era policy and kicking off a new program for Venezuelans fleeing the country.

The new program is modeled off of the Uniting for Ukraine program that allowed people in the U.S. to privately sponsor Ukrainians, in this case allowing up to 24,000 Venezuelans to secure a work authorization for up to two years.

But along with the new program, the U.S. said it will now expel Venezuelans who cross the border from Mexico, extending the Title 42 program that allows U.S. officials to quickly expel foreign nationals crossing the border.

Until the announcement, Venezuelans were not subject to Title 42 expulsions because neither their home country nor any other third country was willing to accept their return.