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Trump Officials Revoke Biden’s Extension of Protections for Venezuelans
The Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States, according to a copy of the decision obtained by The New York Times.
On Tuesday, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, decided to revoke the 18-month extension of what is known as Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to help people in the United States who cannot return safely and immediately to their country because of a natural disaster or an armed conflict. The move is a blow to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who believed they would not only be protected from deportation but also provided work permits until at least the fall of 2026.
Undoing the extension could add to Mr. Trump’s crackdown on not only illegal immigration but also on immigrants whom the Biden administration had authorized to remain in the country. In the past, Mr. Trump has targeted immigrants under Temporary Protected Status, which aids migrants from some of the most unstable countries in the world. Republicans have argued, however, that the measure has strayed far from its original mission of providing temporary shelter from conflict or disaster.
During his first administration, Mr. Trump aimed to stop the protections for migrants from several countries, including Haiti, El Salvador and Sudan. Federal courts stymied some of those efforts.
Ms. Noem’s decision finds fault with the move by Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary under Mr. Biden, to extend the protections for Venezuelans in the final month of Mr. Biden’s term. The agency generally must decide at regular intervals whether the protections should be extended before they expire. The notice argued that Mr. Mayorkas made his move too early and said the extension should not remain in effect “given the exceedingly brief period” since it was issued on Jan. 17.
A Homeland Security Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, argued that the last-minute extension by the Biden administration appeared to be a way to tie the hands of Trump officials.
Venezuelans have poured into the United States in recent years as their country’s economy has collapsed and President Nicolás Maduro’s autocratic government has stifled dissent.
Those who initially received Temporary Protected Status in 2021 will maintain their protections through September, while those who obtained it in 2023 will have them until at least April. Ms. Noem now has until Saturday to make a decision on whether to issue her own extension on the group of Venezuelans who received their status in 2023.
If the administration does not make a decision by Saturday, the protections will extend for six months automatically, the notice said.
Immigrant advocates said the cancellation of the Biden administration’s extension would cause confusion and fear among Venezuelans across the United States.
“By taking this action, Secretary Noem is throwing over 600,000 into a state of ongoing bureaucratic limbo,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. “People will no longer have any certainty as to whether they can stay in the country legally through the end of the year.”
He said the decision indicated that the Trump administration could also decide not to make its own extension for Venezuelans who received their status in 2023.
“If the Trump administration moves to terminate T.P.S. for over 600,000 Venezuelans, it could also have significant impacts on the economy, as nearly all of those with status are working here legally,” he added.
When the Biden administration moved to extend the protections this month, it cited “political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime.”
The statement said that “these conditions have contributed to high levels of crime and violence, impacting access to food, medicine, health care, water, electricity and fuel.”
In a recent move that has sparked controversy and outrage, Trump officials have revoked the extension of protections for Venezuelans that was granted by the Biden administration. This decision has left many Venezuelan immigrants in a state of uncertainty and fear, as they now face the possibility of being deported back to a country plagued by political and economic turmoil.The Biden administration had previously extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, allowing them to remain in the United States and work legally. However, the Trump officials have now revoked this extension, citing concerns about fraud and abuse within the TPS program.
Critics of the decision argue that revoking TPS for Venezuelans is both heartless and short-sighted, as it puts vulnerable individuals at risk of persecution and violence if they are forced to return to Venezuela. They also point out that the revocation of TPS contradicts the Biden administration’s stated commitment to supporting democracy and human rights around the world.
As the situation continues to unfold, many are calling on the Biden administration to reverse the decision and reinstate protections for Venezuelans. In the meantime, Venezuelan immigrants in the United States are left in limbo, unsure of what the future holds for them and their families.
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Hunter Biden laptop: Trump to revoke clearances of ex-officials who signed letter
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his administration will move to revoke the security clearances of the more than four dozen former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the hallmarks of a “Russian information operation.”
The action is an early indication of the president’s determination to exact retribution on perceived adversaries and is the latest point of tension between Trump and an intelligence community of which he has been openly disdainful. The sweeping move, announced via executive order Monday, also sets up a potential court challenge from ex-officials seeking to maintain access to sensitive government information.
“The president has a lot of authority when it comes to security clearances. The problem the White House will run into is, if they depart from their existing procedures, they could set up a judicial appeal for these 51 people — and it will probably be a class-action suit since they’re all in alike or similar circumstances,” said Dan Meyer, a Washington lawyer who specializes in the security clearance and background check process.
The executive order targets the clearances of 50 people in all, including the 49 surviving signatories of the letter. The list includes prominent officials like James Clapper, the director of national intelligence under former President Barack Obama, and John Brennan and Leon Panetta, who both served as Obama’s CIA director.
Also targeted is John Bolton, who was fired as Trump’s national security adviser during his first term and later wrote a book whose publication the White House unsuccessfully sought to block on grounds that it disclosed national security information. Separately this week, Trump abruptly ended the U.S. Secret Service detail assigned to Bolton, who has been the subject of assassination plots by Iran. Bolton said in a statement that he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.
The order directs the CIA to work with the office of the Director of National Intelligence to begin the process of revoking the clearances.
It was not clear how many of the former officials still maintain security clearances, though Mark Zaid, who represents eight people who signed the letter, said that he did not believe many did and that the Trump’s action functioned largely as a “public policy message to his right-wing base”
He said he would sue the administration on behalf of any client who wanted to challenge the order.
“There’s nothing in this that shows me, regardless of presidential authority, that this action is not subject to existing law and policy that mandates procedural and substantive due process,” Zaid said. A Clinton-era executive order says people determined to be ineligible for a clearance are to be provided a “comprehensive and detailed” explanation of the conclusion.
At issue is an October 2020 letter signed by former intelligence officials who raised alarms about the provenance of emails reported by The New York Post to have come from a laptop that President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, had dropped off at a Wilmington, Delaware, computer repair shop. The newspaper said it had obtained a hard drive of the laptop from longtime Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, and the communications that it published related to Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine.
The signatories of the letter wrote that they didn’t know whether the emails were authentic or not but that their emergence has “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
But Trump’s director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe — also his current pick to lead the CIA — contradicted that assessment by saying there was no intelligence to support the idea that Russia had anything to do with Hunter Biden’s laptop. The FBI, which was conducting its own criminal investigations into the younger Biden, seemed to back up Ratcliffe’s statement by telling Congress in a letter it had nothing to add to what he had said.
Hunter Biden was subsequently convicted of both tax and gun charges, but was pardoned last month by his father.
Though courts are historically reluctant to weigh in on disputes involving security clearances, the unilateral suspension by Trump is a departure from standard protocol in which individual executive branch agencies would be tasked with creating an investigation into a person’s fitness for a clearance or whether it should be revoked.
Throughout his first presidency, Trump fumed about an intelligence community that he believed had been politicized against him, repeatedly citing the investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign.
Recently, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop and the alleged emails and documents found on it. In response to this, President Trump has announced that he will be revoking the security clearances of several former officials who signed a letter criticizing the release of the laptop’s contents.This move by Trump has sparked further debate and speculation about the motives behind the release of the laptop’s contents and the potential impact it could have on the upcoming election. Some believe that Trump’s actions are a way to distract from his own controversies, while others see it as a necessary step to protect national security.
Regardless of the reasoning behind Trump’s decision, it is clear that the Hunter Biden laptop saga is far from over and will continue to be a hot topic leading up to the election. Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.
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Trump officials revoke Biden policy that barred ICE arrests near “sensitive locations” like schools and churches
Washington — Just hours after President Trump’s inauguration, his administration revoked a Biden-era policy that prohibited arrests by U.S. immigration agents at or near schools, places of worship and other places deemed to be “sensitive locations.”
Benjamine Huffman, whom the Trump administration installed as acting homeland security secretary pending the confirmation of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, issued a memo on Monday reversing the Biden administration’s immigration arrest guidelines on “sensitive locations.”
That policy, signed by former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to refrain from apprehending unauthorized immigrants at or near locations “that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.” Those locations included schools; places of worship; hospitals and other healthcare facilities; shelters; relief centers; and public demonstrations, like rallies and protests.
In a statement defending the termination of the Biden administration rule, the Department of Homeland Security said the Trump administration “will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
Pro-immigrant advocates had feared the rescission of the Biden-era rules, warning that it would allow the Trump administration to bring its mass deportations plans to churches and schools.
But the Trump administration said Monday’s decision was designed to target unauthorized immigrants with serious criminal histories.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens — including murders and rapists — who have illegally come into our country,” DHS said in its statement. “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”
Monday’s action is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to eliminate limits other administrations have placed on ICE operations as it lays the groundwork for what the president has pledged will be the largest deportation operation in American history. The administration is expected to ramp up immigration arrests in cities and communities with “sanctuary” policies that restrict cooperation between local enforcement and ICE.
The administration is also expected to rescind other Biden administration memos that discontinued mass immigration sweeps at worksites like factories and that limited ICE arrests to serious criminals, national security threats and recent border arrivals.
Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s “border czar,” has repeatedly said the new administration, like every administration, will prioritize the arrest of immigrants who are in the country illegally and who have committed crimes. But he has stressed that no one will be exempt from immigration enforcement if they are in the U.S. illegally, warning that arrests of non-criminal unauthorized immigrants are likely.
Mr. Trump moved swiftly on his first day back in the White House to launch his long-expected immigration crackdown, issuing a blitz of orders that sought to deny birthright citizenship to the children of unauthorized immigrants and temporary visas holders; suspend asylum and refugee admissions; and enlist the military’s aid in border enforcement though an emergency declaration.
Another executive order directed officials to expand detention sites to hold deportees and increase agreements with local law enforcement authorities, so they can arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants as deputized immigration officers.
In a recent move, Trump officials have revoked a key Biden policy that previously barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from making arrests near “sensitive locations” such as schools, churches, and hospitals. This decision has sparked controversy and raised concerns among immigrant communities and advocates.The policy, implemented by the Biden administration as part of its efforts to prioritize the protection of vulnerable populations, aimed to create a safe space for individuals to access essential services without fear of being detained by immigration authorities. However, the Trump administration argues that this policy hinders ICE’s ability to enforce immigration laws effectively and puts public safety at risk.
Critics of the decision argue that revoking this policy will only serve to instill fear and uncertainty among immigrant communities, potentially deterring individuals from seeking help or accessing vital services. They also express concerns about the potential for increased racial profiling and discrimination in enforcement actions near these sensitive locations.
As the debate over immigration policy continues to unfold, it is clear that the issue of ICE arrests near sensitive locations remains a contentious and divisive topic. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
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- Biden policy reversal
- ICE arrests
- Sensitive locations
- Schools and churches
- Immigration enforcement
- Trump officials
- Immigration policy changes
- Law enforcement near schools and churches
- Public safety concerns
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RFK Jr. petitioned FDA in 2021 to revoke authorization of all COVID vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who’s nominated to become the next health secretary, asked the federal government to revoke its authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines in May 2021, just as vaccinated Americans began returning to a sense of normalcy after pandemic lockdowns.
The request came via a citizen petition filed by Kennedy and Meryl Nass on behalf of Children’s Health Defense, a group founded by Kennedy that advocates against the recommended vaccine schedule for children.
The petition, first reported by the New York Times, asked the Food and Drug Administration to “revoke Emergency Use Authorizations for existing COVID vaccines and refrain from approving and licensing them.”
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It came five months after then-President Donald Trump proudly announced the FDA’s green light of the vaccine was imminent.
In this Aug. 23, 2024, file photo, former Republican presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Rebecca Noble/Getty Images, FILE
“They say it’s somewhat of a miracle, and I think that’s true,” Trump told reporters of the vaccine in December 2020.
Since then, the COVID vaccine has been credited with saving millions of lives and alleviating the burden on hospitals that became overwhelmed in the early days of the pandemic.
The FDA denied the petition in its response three months later, saying it found “no basis” in the petition to pull the vaccines from the market.
“FDA is not aware of any information indicating that the known and potential benefits of the authorized COVID-19 Vaccines are outweighed by their known and potential risks, nor has Petitioner provided any such information in the Petition,” the agency wrote at the time.
Kennedy is soon expected to testify publicly before a Senate panel in a bid to shore up support for his nomination. He’s expected to be pressed by Democrats and some Republicans on his past comments questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
In December 2021, Kennedy falsely claimed the COVID-19 vaccine was “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend the COVID vaccine, saying data shows those who are vaccinated are less likely to die from complications of the virus than those who are unvaccinated.
In this April 16, 2021, file photo, a vial of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and syringes sit prepared at a pop up vaccine clinic at the Jewish Community Center in the Staten Island borough of New York.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Days before Kennedy filed his May 2021 petition, the CDC had just announced that fully vaccinated Americans could go without masks because it believed at the time immunization reduced a person’s infectiousness. The agency would later reverse that decision after outbreaks occurred involving vaccinated individuals.
Pressed by an NBC interviewer in November whether he would have blocked the authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine had he been in government at the time, Kennedy said, “I wouldn’t have directly blocked it.”
“I would have made sure that we had the best science, and there was no effort to do that at that time,” he said.
Kennedy’s spokesperson on the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Kennedy aide who worked at Children’s Health Defense with him also did not immediately respond.
In a shocking move, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has petitioned the FDA to revoke the authorization of all COVID vaccines in 2021. In a letter to the FDA commissioner, Kennedy cited concerns about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, as well as potential long-term health risks.Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine activist, has long been a vocal critic of vaccines and has been spreading misinformation about their safety and effectiveness. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines, Kennedy continues to push his agenda and sow doubt in the minds of the public.
The petition has sparked outrage among public health officials and experts, who warn that revoking the authorization of COVID vaccines would be a disastrous move that could lead to a resurgence of the virus and more deaths.
It remains to be seen how the FDA will respond to Kennedy’s petition, but it is clear that the fight against misinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines is far from over. It is more important than ever to rely on science and evidence-based information when making decisions about our health and the health of our communities.
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RFK Jr., FDA petition, COVID vaccines, COVID-19, vaccine authorization, FDA approval, RFK Jr. petition 2021, COVID vaccine controversy, vaccine safety, FDA revocation, vaccine authorization process, vaccine risk assessment.
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