With the releases, 358 Venezuelans are still being held in immigration detention centers.
By:
EFE
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A total of 772 Venezuelans who were detained for immigration reasons in different US centers have been released to date, said Brian Fincheltub, director of consular affairs for the diplomatic representation of the opposition Juan Guaidó to the United States.
According to the latest balance offered by the Guiadó representation led by Carlos Vecchio, in the last month the release of 92 Venezuelan citizens was achieved, in addition to the 680 that had already been reported at the end of last May.
These 92 releases are in addition to the 113 achieved between the end of April and last May 22.
Fincheltub indicated that these releases were the result of joint work “between the relatives of the detained citizens, probono lawyers, NGOs, journalists” and the diplomatic representation of the opposition leader.
With these releases, 358 Venezuelans are still being held in immigration detention centers of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), he said.
Most are in the state of Arizona (34.97%), followed by Georgia (13.69%), Florida (13.11%) and Texas (11.48%), Fincheltub said, explaining that 72 % of detainees are men and the remaining 28% are women.
The director of consular affairs stressed that Vecchio continues to negotiate with the government of President Donald Trump and Congress on the possible approval of a migratory protection mechanism similar to Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allows “Venezuelans to live and work with tranquility, while freedom is conquered in the South American country ”.
The TPS protects people who have come to the US fleeing from armed conflict or natural disasters and currently covers citizens of Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras, among other countries, who obtain permits to work legally in the United States.
He added that, due to the incidence of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, they have asked the federal authorities for “humanitarian measures” for Venezuelans who are still detained, since more than 2,500 cases of coronavirus have been registered in ICE centers and have at least two inmates died.
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