The US will resume deporting Venezuelans who have entered the country illegally, the State Department announced on Thursday afternoon.
“This decision is consistent with the administration’s efforts to implement a strategy of humane, safe, and orderly enforcement of our immigration laws,” a State Department statement read.
Venezuela, which is mired in economic and political crisis, had previously refused to allow deportation flights. Around 7.7mn Venezuelans have fled their country in recent years, according to the United Nations, with over 22,000 illegally crossing into the US in August alone.
Thousands of Venezuelans each month make the perilous journey through the Darién Gap jungle that separates Colombia and Panama, before continuing onward to the US.