The Biden administration says it is granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans already in the country, making them quickly eligible to work, as it grapples with a growing number of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to to reach the US-Mexico border. .

The move, combined with promises to speed up work permits for many migrants, could appease Democratic leaders who have pressured the White House to do more to help asylum seekers, while also providing grist to the table for Republicans who say President Biden has been too lax on immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to grant temporary protected status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, making it easier for them to get permission to work in the US. That has been a key demand of Democratic mayors and governors struggling to manage the growing number of migrants under their care.

That is in addition to the approximately 242,700 Venezuelans who were already eligible for temporary status before Wednesday’s announcement.

The protection for Venezuelans is significant because Venezuelans make up a large portion of the migrants who have arrived in the country in recent years.

Venezuela has been plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the past decade, forcing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain. The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring Latin America, but many came to the U.S. in the past three years through the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle in Panama.

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Venezuelans who arrive in the US after July 31 this year will not be eligible for the protection. Those who qualify now must apply to get it.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has authorized the expansion and an 18-month extension for those already in temporary status due to the increased instability and lack of security in Venezuela due to the ongoing humanitarian, security, political and ecological conditions, the ministry said in a statement. .

The administration said it would expedite work permits for people who have arrived in the country since January through a mobile app for appointments at border crossings with Mexico, called CBP One, or through paroles granted to Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who are financial sponsors to have. and arrive at an airport. The aim is to issue them work permits within 30 days, compared to around 90 days currently.

The promise of expedited work permits does not apply to people crossing the border illegally and seeking asylum, who by law must wait six months before receiving work permits.

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Mayors and governors have called on Biden to come up with a way to allow newly arrived migrants to work legally so they can earn a living.

Democratic officials in New York, Massachusetts, Chicago and elsewhere have complained about the strain newly arrived migrants are putting on their resources, especially in New York, where the government is required to provide housing to anyone who needs it. The city currently pays for housing for approximately 60,000 newly arrived migrants.

The Governor of New York. Kathy Hochul said in a statement late Wednesday that she was grateful that the federal government acted so quickly to grant one of our top priorities: temporary protected status to Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants who have already arrived in this country.

The city’s mayor, Eric Adams, has been particularly critical of the Biden administration. On Wednesday, he praised the decision to grant protection to Venezuelans and thanked the government for listening to the city’s concerns.

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The number of migrants attempting to cross the southern border is increasing. That poses a serious challenge for the administration, which has struggled to show it has control of the border despite Republican criticism. The city of Eagle Pass, which borders Mexico along the Rio Grande in southern Texas, declared a state of emergency Wednesday due to a serious surge of undocumented immigrants.

About 2,700 migrants crossed Eagle Pass on Tuesday and about 3,000 on Wednesday, according to Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber.

The administration also said Wednesday it was also using Defense Department troops to support homeland security personnel at the border. Homeland Security already uses about 2,500 National Guard troops to assist Customs and Border Protection. In the press release, Homeland Security said up to 800 new active-duty troops would also be sent to the border; they would be used for tasks such as logistics to free up customs officials for more frontline responsibilities.

Homeland Security said it is also taking other steps to address immigration, such as scaling up a process it started in May to quickly remove families who have no basis to stay in the country. The agency said it has also increased storage capacity along the southern border.

And it is said that the number of people deported has increased. Since May 12, the agency said it has transferred 253,000 people to just over 150 countries around the world. This compares with the 180,000 people removed in the same period in 2019.