Democrats blast Biden for deporting Venezuelans fleeing socialism

President Biden has come under fire for launching a program that deports Venezuelan migrants detained at the U.S.-Mexico border to Colombia, despite the president’s previous condemnation of similar policies enacted by the Trump administration.

Lest we forget, Biden took to Twitter while on the campaign trail to blast former President Donald Trump for deporting at least 180 Venezuelans to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.

In the president's own words, “Not only does President Trump refuse to grant Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans, but he also apparently used stealth deportations to send them back to the oppressive Maduro regime. It’s abundantly clear he has no regard for the suffering of the Venezuelan people.”

Yet although the U.S. government continues to legally accept asylum-seekers who present evidence of political persecution, Venezuelans apprehended at the border are currently being deported under a Title 42 policy that permits deportation as a public health measure under COVID-19, the New York Post reported. 

“In this case, pursuant to Title 42, we began repatriating Venezuelan nationals who had attempted to unlawfully enter the United States to Colombia where they had previously resided,” White House press secretary Jen Psakisaid.

“Flights to Colombia with Venezuelan nationals who have legal status are expected to take place on a regular basis and will be operated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Of course, that requires agreement with the government [of Colombia].”

But the Biden administration’s latest border blunder has even attracted ire from Democrats, who recently reminded the president that roughly 50,000 Venezuelans detained last year at the U.S.-Mexico border are among the 6 million individuals who have fled the hunger and violence of life under Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime.

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez -- the highest-ranking Latino in Congress and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee -- issued a statement on Tuesday saying:

“The recent reports of the Biden Administration removing Venezuelans through third countries is extremely disturbing. By continuing to use a page from Trump’s immigration enforcement playbook, this administration is turning its back on the immigrants who need our protection the most. Under Maduro’s cruel regime, Venezuelans who are sent back face a grim future and, in many cases, harsh consequences for seeking political asylum in the United States.”

Although Menendez recognized the importance of maintaining a strong border, especially during COVID-19, the senator blasted Biden for his use of Title 42 to keep Venezuelans out of the country.

“Venezuela is suffering a refugee crisis as the result of a brutal dictatorship and urgent humanitarian conditions. Using Title 42 to expel Venezuelan refugees to third countries, is unconscionable and has to stop. I sincerely hope President Biden corrects course immediately and orders Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken to reverse this cruel course of action,” he added.