A new extension of Temporary Protected Status, known as TPS, could be a game-changer for nearly half a million eligible Venezuelan immigrants, at a time when some Venezuelans are facing deportation. Repatriation flights are expected to resume.
In New York City, Jonathan was among the first to apply for TPS this week, when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting applications from Venezuelans who have lived continuously in the U.S. as of July 31.
Jhonnattan, who is being identified only by his first name because of his current legal status, has an asylum case pending that could take years to resolve. Immigrant rights advocates said getting TPS could mean getting some kind of temporary relief sooner, since those applications are likely to be processed more quickly than asylum claims.
Jonathan, who served in the military back in Venezuela, said he first left his homeland in 2017 and settled in neighboring Colombia after facing death threats and surviving a gun attack. He said he spent six months in prison after being caught up in the escalating political crisis and protests against President Nicolás Maduro, whose left-wing government has dismantled Venezuela’s democratic institutions and left much of the country in poverty. has helped lead to
“That’s when I said to myself, ‘I have to get out of here because they’re going to kill me,'” he told NBC News in Spanish.
After a few years in Colombia, Jonathan began to fear for his safety again when he saw the country’s leadership soften its approach to Maduro’s government as reports emerged that Maduro’s A top ally is “requesting the return of those who were also against the government. As the military that sought political asylum in Colombia.
He said that was when Jonathan decided to go to the United States, which had tried to oust Maduro through sanctions and isolation.
With TPS, recipients can live and work in the U.S. for up to 18 months without fear of deportation. If the situation in their home countries is still unstable, the federal government can extend protection. Refugees, who have been granted asylum, can also apply for a Social Security card, request permission to travel abroad and apply to bring family members to the U.S. Immigrants Can apply for TPS and asylum at the same time.
“I’ve been told that it takes a long time to get asylum, a long time,” Jhonnatan said. “It’s somewhat difficult, and yes, difficult.”
His asylum application is among more than 1.3 million awaiting processing as of May. In fiscal year 2021, Venezuelans accounted for about 12 percent of those granted asylum, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
In June 2022, Jonathan arrived in New York City. Unlike many immigrants without family or connections, he was able to live with members of his extended family living in the city. Still in Venezuela to provide for his parents and two children, he borrowed a bicycle and biked around Queens looking for work. He got a job assembling and fixing furniture. After three months he rented a room and started living on his own.
He recently got his driver’s license and started a second job as a driver. New York is one of 18 states that allow non-citizens to obtain driver’s licenses.
“It’s time to give my all to whoever comes my way and always keep my head up and stay positive,” he said.
Jhonnattan is among more than 100,000 immigrants who have arrived in New York City over the past year, after Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bussed migrants crossing the Texas border into New York and other Democratic states. Started sending. – Run the city.
To apply, to be independent
NBC News spoke with five different Latino and immigration rights organizations in New York City that are preparing to help Venezuelans with their TPS applications and also provide legal and educational workshops and consultations.
Among the largest groups doing this are the New York Immigration Coalition, the Hispanic Federation and the New York Legal Assistance Group. There are also some smaller organizations that provide important guidance to the people of Venezuela.
Project Russo, an immigration services organization, has helped nearly 200 asylum seekers, many from Venezuela, file their TPS applications over the past week. Founder and executive director Andrew Heinrich said they are also organizing a TPS clinic later this month, with about 100 families expected to submit 500 applications. A similar event is also scheduled on November 29.
Democrats who advocated for the latest TPS designation said it would improve the ability of Venezuelans, who make up half of all immigrants to New York City, to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on urban services like shelters. It will improve the ability to do.
“They will be able to enter the economic ecosystem of the city,” said Jesús Aguais, a Venezuelan native and executive director of AID for AIDS, a group that works with Venezuelan refugees now on TPS. are eligible for
“We will be able to fill. [employment] Positions legally, people will be able to start paying taxes, and they’ll get out of the shelter system, even though they’re already getting out of the shelter system,” he said.
The local mandate requires New York City to provide shelter and basic services to anyone regardless of immigration status.
He said AIDS for AIDS holds educational workshops twice a week and a legal clinic once a month with Venezuelan paralegals who come from Miami to provide culturally competent services as they travel to the shelter, T. Apply for PS and work permit.
Even with TPS or other types of deportation protections, “it’s hard to have enough to buy a place or rent an apartment,” said Nuerca Melendez, a Venezuelan asylum seeker and director and founder of Venezuela and Immigrants Aid. [and] Show credit history to lease a place.”
Melendez’s organization hosts virtual workshops with an attorney to explain the intricacies of the different legal paths immigrants can take when they arrive in the United States. Going to America.
New York City officials have said they are also ramping up immigration case management efforts to be able to process the large number of applications.
Masha Gundler, executive director of New York City Asylum Application Help, said at a news conference Wednesday that she expects to make hundreds of TPS appointments a day in November. “Our goal is to have real access to the identification, screening and placement of all eligible Venezuelans by the end of the year.”
Deportations resume as protections are extended.
Only Venezuelans like Jonathan, who were in the U.S. before the end of July, can apply for TPS — protections currently available to other vulnerable populations in 15 other countries, such as Ukraine and Afghanistan, which are experiencing ongoing armed conflict and Due to El Salvador and Nicaragua. About the effects of environmental disasters.
The federal government said it would soon resume repatriation flights, after Venezuelan officials agreed to accept the return of deported Venezuelans who crossed the US border illegally and They were not able to establish a legal basis to stay in the United States.
Judy Zesmer, director of the immigrant protection unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group, told NBC News that she believes the repatriation will likely affect Venezuelans who have recently come to the United States. or who will arrive there without a visa. Despite the resumption of deportations in Venezuela, immigration officials must provide a gruesome interview to anyone seeking asylum.
Zessmer said Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. in the past two months could face deportation unless they are in the middle of applying for asylum or other protections.
The Biden administration previously made TPS available to Venezuelans arriving in the U.S. before March 9, 2021, and last year extended its protections to allow those immigrants to stay in the U.S. until March 2024.
Applicants under the current designation will be able to stay in the US until April 2025.