U.S. grants temporary protected status to thousands of Venezuelans
08 March 2021
Venezuelans living in the United States will be eligible to receive temporary protected status for 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.
Why it matters: Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have fled to the U.S. amid economic, political and social turmoil back home. Former President Trump, on his last full day in office, granted some protections to Venezuelans through the U.S. Deferred Enforced Departure program, but advocates and lawmakers said the move didn't go far enough.
Details: The TPS designation allows Venezuelans currently in the U.S. to apply for the protective status, which will last until Sept. 9, 2022.
- TPS allows people from other countries to stay and work in the U.S. if their home nations are ravaged by a natural disaster or war, and they're allowed to stay until things improve.
The big picture: More than 4 million refugees and migrants have fled Venezuela in recent years, according to the United Nations. Many have gone to Colombia and other South American countries.
- Over 145,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. were eligible for protection under the Deferred Enforced Departure program when Trump made the designation in January, per AP.
- The U.S. and allied countries have sought to isolate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has clinged to power despite challenges by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who the U.S. and other countries recognize as the country's legitimate president.
- On the campaign trail, President Biden vowed to grant TPS to Venezuelans "seeking relief from the humanitarian crisis brought on by the [Nicolás] Maduro regime."
Go deeper: Venezuela's uncertain future
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.