(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Biden administration announced Friday the expansion of deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the United States illegally. Notably, this order protects those who entered during the same period as Laken Riley’s murderer.
The Department of Homeland Security expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from Venezuela by 18 months, potentially binding President-elect Donald Trump to this program until Oct. 2, 2026.
TPS has long been a controversial program that effectively allows illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. nearly indefinitely despite its “temporary” purpose. Democrats have claimed the program is needed to protect illegal immigrants due to so-called humanitarian emergencies.
The Biden administration granted another extension for a TEMPORARY status citing that El Salvador is unsafe from a 2001 earthquake. TPS is a scam on the American people. https://t.co/qoZJPN4Ygt
— Katie Miller (@katierosemiller) January 10, 2025
Courts have historically blocked efforts to terminate TPS and similar programs. For instance, courts have ruled DACA illegal but allowed the federal government to renew it for individuals who received it before July 16, 2021.
The total number of Venezuelans eligible for Biden’s new extension exceeds the population of Wyoming and nearly matches those of Vermont and Washington, D.C. Individuals must have arrived in the U.S. by July 31, 2023, to qualify for the program.
Jose Ibarra, who was found guilty of the brutal murder of Riley, a beloved nursing student in Georgia, entered the country illegally on Sept. 8, 2022, from Venezuela.
While it is unclear whether Ibarra held TPS protection, he was paroled into the U.S. Less than two years later, on Feb. 22, 2024, Ibarra attacked and killed Riley, according to his conviction.
Ibarra came to the attention of immigration in September 2023 when New York City police arrested him for a motorcycle-related violation involving a child. However, New York released him without alerting ICE
Ibarra then moved to Georgia, where he had several encounters with law enforcement before killing Riley.
NEW: Laken Riley fought for her life for 18 whole minutes before her skull was crushed allegedly by illegal alien Jose Ibarra from Venezuela.
According to Riley's smartwatch, she fought from 910 am until her heart stopped at 928 am.
Prosecutors say Ibarra crushed Riley's skull… pic.twitter.com/dr4mYjpm1d
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 15, 2024
