US President Joe Biden, whom the right accuses of showing weakness on the immigration issue, has decided to resume direct deportations of illegal immigrants to Venezuela, the State Department announced yesterday Thursday.

The US State Department said in a press release that Caracas has accepted the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals who will be repatriated.

US authorities had for years halted direct repatriation flights of irregular migrants to the Latin American state in deep political, economic and security crisis.

“We have already identified individuals that we are holding and they will be deported quickly, in the next few days,” as they do not meet the requirements to remain in the US legally, a senior US official, who did not want to be named, told the press.

This decision “shows that we are determined that people who cross our borders illegally face the consequences,” he added.

The move came on the same day that the Biden administration made another spectacular decision on immigration: It will resume building the wall that former President Donald Trump wanted on the border with Mexico.

The senior official did not say when the first plane would leave, or how many people would be deported.

The resumption of deportations concerns Venezuelan nationals who entered the US illegally after July 31. For those who were on American soil before that date, Washington recently announced that it will grant 500,000 temporary resident permits.

According to UN estimates, more than seven million people have fled Venezuela due to the collapse of its economy.

President Nicolas Maduro’s government faces sanctions from Washington, which did not recognize his 2018 re-election.

“We have been saying for a long time that we are ready to review the sanctions we impose if there is tangible progress towards a democratic solution in Venezuela. Those steps have not yet been taken and we continue to apply our sanctions,” the senior US official said, according to Agence France-Presse.

The Biden administration has done little to relax the “maximum pressure” campaign in Venezuela that was put in place during the days of his predecessor, despite pressure from Latin American governments to change its stance.

Venezuelan nationals account for a large portion of the people apprehended in the US southern border region. According to data from the US Border Patrol (CBP) database cited in a Miami Herald report relayed by the German Agency, from October 2022 to August 2023, nearly 200,000 were apprehended.

The agreement between the two countries will ensure the “coordinated, safe and legal repatriation” of migrants, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Hill said via X (former Twitter). In a government statement he quotes, Caracas characterizes immigration as a “direct consequence” of American sanctions, which violate international law, as he repeats.

US officials declined to comment when asked by Reuters about the talks between Washington and Caracas and why the Venezuelan government agreed to the pushbacks.

The migrant arrivals have a heavy political cost for Mr. Biden, who is campaigning for re-election in 2024: they give Republicans an opportunity to constantly attack him, accusing him of making the border with Mexico a strainer.