Under the advisement of President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that it is removing the 2021 temporary protected status for Venezuela, which will expire on Sept. 10.
Temporary protected status, commonly known as TPS, is a humanitarian immigration status in the U.S. that allows eligible foreign nationals to live and work in the country for a limited period if conditions in their home country make it unsafe to return. Former President Joe Biden enacted two designations of TPS for Venezuela back in 2021.
With approval from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration terminated one of the statuses earlier this year, and is now removing the second.
According to the press release, Secretary Kristi Noem stated that, upon review, Venezuela no longer meets the statutory requirements for TPS, and that keeping it would go against “America’s best interests.”
On social media, the department also noted that it was “correcting the Biden administration’s decision to turn TPS into a loophole for permanent residence and terminating Venezuela’s Temporary Protected Status. Their free stay in America is over, they must return home immediately.”
“TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is exactly what the Biden administration turned it into.”
Immigrants under the TPS status are being advised to self-deport under the government smartphone app, CBP Home, that the Trump administration has repurposed to encourage voluntary returns. A $1,000 bonus will be granted if they return to their home countries using the app.
“Given Venezuela’s substantial role in driving irregular migration and the clear magnet effect created by Temporary Protected Status, maintaining or expanding TPS for Venezuelan nationals directly undermines the Trump Administration’s efforts to secure our southern border and manage migration effectively,” a DHS spokesperson said, per the press release.
DHS also opens ‘Louisiana Lockup’
Fifty-one immigrants have apparently already been moved into a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility located at the infamous Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Back in the 1960s, the prison earned the reputation as the ”bloodiest prison in the South" for the multiple stabbings that occurred there, before reform was mandated in the ’70s after inmates sued, and according to Fox News, the new location that opened on Thursday is set to house what Noem called the “worst of the worst.”
Noem, who was present at the opening of the facility, posted on social media a warning to immigrants living in the country illegally who commit crimes in the U.S.:
“To every criminal illegal alien perpetuating violence on our streets, beware: your free pass is over,” she said. “Louisiana Lockup could be your last stop in America.”
The state’s Gov. Jeff Landry also posted on social media, thanking the Trump administration and announcing that “Louisiana Lockup is OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Those who enter our country illegally, then commit heinous crimes against Americans will suffer the consequences,” he said.
“Goodnight Louisiana! Sleep tight knowing the worst of the worst illegal aliens are now locked up for good in Angola,” he added.