US Offers Legal Status to Nearly 500,000 Venezuelan Migrants

Amid a continued surge in southern border crossings, the Biden administration is granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country, making them eligible to work.

The Details: The program will maintain a temporary protection designation for 242,700 Venezuelans already in the U.S., including people here illegally. Roughly 472,000 more Venezuelans are expected to qualify for the new designation. Those qualifying must have arrived in the U.S. before July 31.

For Context: The border city of Eagle Pass, Texas, announced a state of emergency Wednesday due to a "severe undocumented immigrant surge" of roughly 5,700 people over two days, including many Venezuelans.

How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the news, and framed it in the context of the growing number of migrants arriving at the border. Some right-rated sources focused more on how some sanctuary cities and border communities have been "overwhelmed," while left-rated sources tended to highlight how the new policy may help. Fox News (Right bias) said the Biden administration "faces fierce pressure from sanctuary jurisdictions like New York City, which have demanded more federal action to help them deal with the migrant crises they are facing." The Associated Press (Lean Left bias) said the policy fulfills "a key demand of Democratic mayors and governors who are struggling to care for an increased number of migrants in their care."