The Biden administration will immediately begin deporting illegal immigrants from Venezuela who come across the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully amid a historic border surge, the White House announced Thursday.
Senior administration officials told reporters in a call that the United States would resume repatriation flights of Venezuelan immigrants who are deemed removable from the country.
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"This again shows how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully, and it's a direct consequence of these individuals not having availed themselves of the lawful pathways that we have created and expanded, which includes the humanitarian parole process for them as well as nationals and their family members, that have already allowed more than 73,000 as well to enter," one administration official said during the call.
More than 48,000 Venezuelans have illegally entered the country and been arrested by the Border Patrol between June and August, the highest number in any similar period.
Repatriation flights are expected to begin "very soon, in the next few days," one official said, and would include a "significant" number of flights.
More than 37,000 Venezuelans were encountered at the border in August alone, the highest month on record, including 22,000 who illegally crossed between the ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. The other 15,000 Venezuelans encountered in August came through a port of entry.
The second official said the repatriation flights were a result of the Venezuelan government agreeing to accept back its citizens from the U.S. Officials did not disclose if Venezuela was compensated or entered into any sort of agreement as part of its agreement to accept back its citizens.
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The move is in stark contrast with a decision that the Biden administration announced in September that it would not deport Venezuelan illegal immigrants who had been living in the U.S. before July 31. Venezuela was given Temporary Protected Status on the basis that the U.S. government decided the country was not in a stable position to return citizens.
Over the past year, the Biden administration rolled out a new program for immigrants from Venezuela and three other countries to apply for appointments with U.S. customs officials at ports of entry to establish possible legal ways for admission. The administration officials said immigrants who come over the border illegally choose to ignore these processes.