The US government will offer temporary legal residency to an estimated 320,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the country, marking a departure from the policies of the previous administration of Donald Trump.

In a statement released on Monday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said that Venezuela would be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, until September 2022.

The move allows Venezuelan nationals currently living in the US to fill initial applications for TPS, as long as they meet eligibility criteria, including being able to demonstrate continuous residency in the United States as of March 8.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the designation is due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, "repression" and crumbling infrastructure.

"The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens," Mayorkas said. "It is in times of extraordinary and temporary circumstances like these that the United States steps forward to support eligible Venezuelan nationals already present here, while their home country seeks to right itself out of the current crisis."

While still running for president, Joe Biden was the first Democratic candidate to recognize Juan Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and has repeatedly stated that he believes Nicolás Maduro is a dictator and that the results of the country's May 2018 elections were fraudulent.

AP

Speaking to reporters via teleconference on Monday evening, a senior administration official said that Biden's approach to Venezuela has been "fairly clear."

"He is going to underscore the importance of supporting the Venezuelan people inside and outside of the county with robust humanitarian assistance, particularly to the over 5 million Venezuelans that have fled their country."  

The living conditions in Venezuela reveal a country in turmoil, unable to protect its own citizens, Mayorkas said

Additionally, the official said that that the US will work with other countries to build support for "free and fair" elections in Venezuela and "increase pressure" on the Maduro government.

"He [Biden] has also...directed the administration to focus really on matters of human rights, to combat rampant corruption in the country and go after every penny that has been stolen from the Venezuelan people by elements of the regime and its supporters," the official said.  

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the designation is due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, "repression" and crumbling infrastructure.

The official also said that the decision was "not at all" made in an attempt to gain political support in places like South Florida.

"The suffering and the ongoing turmoil that the Venezuelan people have endured is well documented," he said. "That's neither Democrat nor Republican. This is based on what the conditions on the ground are."

Recently, Republicans had urged the Biden administration to formalize a Trump administration executive order that deferred deportations for 145,000 Venezuelans. TPS, however, is a more formal and long-lasting status.

Approximately 400,000 people from ten countries now live in the United states on temporary protected status. The largest numbers come from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti. The Trump administration had previously expressed willingness to end the program, which it said had effectively become permanent residency as a result of multiple extensions.