Wasserman Schultz: House Republicans Voting Down TPS Betrays Venezuelans

Washington, July 23, 2019
"House Republicans sent Venezuelan nationals – our friends and neighbors – a cruel message that they are inexplicably indifferent to the crisis taking place in Venezuela."

(Washington D.C.) – U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement after House Republicans voted overwhelmingly against the Venezuela TPS Act of 2019:

“I am profoundly disappointed at the lack of bipartisan support for urgently needed protections for Venezuelans who have fled starvation, violence, and persecution. Today we should have been celebrating the passage of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and urging the Senate to take this bill up immediately.

Instead, House Republicans sent Venezuelan nationals – our friends and neighbors – a cruel message that they are inexplicably indifferent to the egregious human rights abuses taking place amid the horrific economic and humanitarian crisis taking place in Venezuela.

My district has the largest Venezuelan population in the United States, and I have heard firsthand from many of my South Florida neighbors about the brutality of the Maduro regime. These are stories of children being kidnapped from playgrounds, family members dying of hunger, government-sponsored violence, businesses being confiscated and the deprivation of civil rights.

Despite calling the Maduro regime a ‘nightmare of poverty, hunger, and death,’ and saying he was ‘very seriously’ looking at extending TPS to Venezuela, President Trump’s Administration has only committed to ‘monitoring’ the desperate and unraveling situation in Venezuela. In the meantime, this Administration continues to deport Venezuelan nationals – sending them back to the nightmare they escaped.

South Florida Democrats will keep fighting to extend TPS for Venezuela. Although this bill did not pass today under suspension, due to House Republicans failing to support TPS for Venezuela, we will continue using other legislative avenues to bring this urgently needed legislation back to the floor for a vote.

Additionally, President Trump could grant TPS to Venezuelans today. I urge the President to extend TPS to Venezuelan migrants, ensuring that Venezuelans who fled conflict in their home country are protected in line with our American democratic values.”