Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants were deported from the United States and flown to Caracas early Monday morning, marking the first deportation flight to Venezuela since the U.S. and Venezuelan governments agreed to resume formal repatriations.
The flight comes after the recent transfer of 238 Venezuelan nationals to a high-security prison in El Salvador. RELATED: VIDEO: Gangsters Grounded: 200+ Deported Tren de Aragua Suspects Arrive At El Salvador’s Mega-Prison
U.S. officials have accused the group of being part of a transnational Venezuelan criminal organization, though family members of the deportees strongly deny the allegations, calling the move politically motivated and inhumane.
The Trump administration has doubled down, as promised during the campaign, on its immigration enforcement approach, announcing plans to end humanitarian parole protections for more than 500,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua who entered the U.S. under a program created during President Joe Biden’s term.
Biden announced in October that he would sunset this program. RELATED: Trump Admin Terminates Legal Status For 530K CHNV Migrants, Move Mirroring Biden’s October 2024 Plan
According to the Department of Homeland Security, those affected will have 30 days to leave the country voluntarily or face deportation proceedings.
The humanitarian parole program was initially introduced in 2022 to provide legal entry pathways for nationals from crisis-hit countries, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. for two years. The Trump administration has argued the program was misused and inconsistent with immigration law.
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