Trump ‘scraps extension of protections for Venezuelans’
The Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that the previous administration granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States, the New York Times reported, citing a copy of the decision.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded a Biden administration move to grant Venezuelans in the US an additional 18 months of deportation relief and access to work permits through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, according to the New York Times.
President Donald Trump, a Republican, took office on January 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programs he says go beyond the intent of US law. Trump tried to end most TPS enrollment during his first term but was stymied by federal courts.
TPS is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. Former president Joe Biden, a Democrat, greatly expanded the program and it now covers more than one million people from 17 nations.
Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the Venezuela extension a week-and-a-half before Trump took office, even though existing protections for Venezuelans did not expire until April for some enrollees and September for others. He also extended TPS for people from El Salvador, Ukraine and Sudan.
The New York Times reported that Noem’s rollback of the extension requires her to decide what to do with protections expiring in April by Saturday or have them automatically renew for six months.
The US Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has revoked the security clearance and personal security detail for retired Army General and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
Hegseth has also directed the Department of Defence Office of Inspector General to open an inquiry into Milley’s conduct to determine whether it is appropriate to reopen an assessment of Milley’s military grade, according to the Pentagon.
“Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security,” Joe Kasper, the Defense Department Chief of Staff, said in a statement.
Representatives for Milley could not be immediately reached.
The news was first reported by Fox News on Tuesday.
Milley was among the pre-emptive pardons that former President Joe Biden issued on Jan. 20, his last day in office.
Milley has said he was grateful for the pardon by Biden, who said Milley and others “do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”
Trump had once suggested Milley should be executed for holding back-channel talks with China. Milley’s photo was removed from the Pentagon shortly after Trump was sworn into office.
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