Rubio Asked Kelly to Extend Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans

Venezuelans who have fled Nicolas Maduro's regime to stay in the United States should be granted temporary protected status, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote in a March letter to then-Department of Homeland Secretary John Kelly, the McClatchy DC Bureau reported Tuesday.

"In light of the ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, it is not in the best interests of the United States to deport non-violent Venezuelan nationals back to the country at this time," the letter reads.

The civil unrest in Venezuela, a result of anti-government protesters demanding new elections, has resulted in a number of deaths. Actions taken by Maduro, including canceling elections and choosing his own assembly to rewrite the country's Constitution, has added to the strife.

Rubio is the main congressional backer of Trump's hardened stance toward Maduro and recently praised the White House for the way it has handled the crisis in Venezuela. "I think the Trump administration is handling it just right," Rubio said in early August. "There's no doubt that that dictatorship is personally responsible for the well-being of these two individuals."

The protective services program as created to help individuals affected by "ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic or other extraordinary and temporary conditions," according to DHS.

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