The United States sent back more than 100 Venezuelans on a repatriation flight on Monday, the first time since deadly earthquakes ravaged the South American nation in late June. The Trump administration had been deporting hundreds of Venezuelans per week prior to June, but its deportation drive came to a halt after back-to-back over 7-magnitude earthquakes killed more than 6,000 people, and laid waste to swathes of the country.
Deportation Flights Resume
The last flight carrying 146 Venezuelans landed in Venezuela just hours before the disaster struck. Many of those on that flight were killed when a hotel they were being housed at collapsed in the quake. On Monday, a plane with 147 Venezuelan migrants abroad took off from Miami and landed in Anzoátegui state.
Fleeing an economic crisis and political repression back home, many Venezuelans have risked their lives on treacherous journeys to reach the US. In October last year, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, who were permitted entry under a humanitarian relief program.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
