FILE PHOTO: In an aerial photograph taken with a drone, a group of mostly Venezuelan migrants camp on the tennis courts of a community center after losing access to other shelter in Seattle, Washington , U.S. April 3, 2024. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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 on Tuesday, citing a copy of the decision.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded a Biden administration move to grant Venezuelans in the U.S. an additional 18 months of deportation relief and access to work permits through the Temporary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 Jan. 20 vowing to crack down on illegal immigration and humanitarian programs he says go beyond the intent of U.S. 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 1 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 U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed and Kim Coghill)
