US to deport Venezuela refugees who cross US-Mexico border unlawfully

The Biden administration will resume deporting Venezuelan refugees, the largest single group encountered at the US-Mexico border last month, back to their economically troubled country as their arrivals continue to grow.

The process is expected to begin shortly, said two US officials on Thursday, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off.

"This again shows how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully," a senior official told reporters.

The new policy takes immediate effect.

The announcement was made on the same day that US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said he would expand sections of the border wall, a signature policy of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who is the front runner to face him in the 2024 presidential election.

The resumption of deportation comes not long after the administration increased the protected status for Venezuelans who arrive in the US, so if someone arrived in the US before July 31 of this year, but not after, they'd be eligible for protections.

The decision reflects the larger strategy by Biden to not only provide expanded legal pathways for people arriving, but also to crack down on those who illegally cross into the country from Mexico.

Cuba, another US adversary, announced earlier this year that it would begin accepting Cuban deportees, but there has only been one flight a month.

Venezuela's reaction

Washington has for years halted sending migrants back to Venezuela due to instability in the South American nation and still maintains sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

But in Venezuela, the government said it had agreed with US officials for a safe and orderly repatriation.

"Venezuelan migration in recent years is a direct result of the application of unilateral coercive measures and a blockade of our economy," Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

It said the government would deploy a programme to support repatriated Venezuelans.

The US move is the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of refugees as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president’s own party to do more to slow arrivals.

Blinken-Barcena meeting

The announcement came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top Biden administration officials met with their counterparts in Mexico City.

Blinken discussed migration flows with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, on Wednesday.

Talks continued on Thursday, including meetings by Blinken and US Attorney General Merrick Garland with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Barcena said on Thursday that some 10,000 refugee encounters were registered at the US-Mexico border on Wednesday.

"We are going to continue taking forceful actions, including continuing some efforts we already have in relation to assisted returns, coordinating the dismantling of trafficking networks and human trafficking," Barcena said.

Blinken said the US government is working to support those efforts.

"We're taking steps to aid the most vulnerable, those most vulnerable to organised crime, training nearly 200 Mexican immigration officials to better screen, identify and assist potential human trafficking victims," Blinken said.

"The scale of this challenge demands that we redouble our efforts, that we do more to increase legal migration ... more to address root causes and more to deter irregular migration humanely," he added.

In August, the US Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37 percent from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The US has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more.

In April, the US, Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama.

But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year — the vast majority from Venezuela.

Most of those who fled settled in neighbouring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years.