Republican Nominee Cites Trump’s Own January 2021 DED for Venezuelans; Contrasts 21-Year Incumbent Who Delivered No Results
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Republican congressional nominee Brent Andersen today called on the White House to immediately grant Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to eligible Venezuelans living and working in the United States whose Temporary Protected Status has expired or is expiring. A narrow court order currently preserving work authorization for a defined group of Venezuelan TPS holders expires October 2, 2026 — 23 days away. Andersen cited the new U.S.-Venezuela oil agreement as further reason to act, arguing that a diplomatic deal abroad does not resolve the legal limbo facing Venezuelan families in Broward County today.
“Washington and Caracas have announced a major oil agreement. That is a serious goal. It should be matched by serious treatment of the Venezuelan families who already live next door to us,” said Andersen. “These families followed the rules, passed background checks, paid taxes, and built lives here under TPS. Many still have work papers only through early October. They are not asking for open borders. They are asking for a lawful way to keep the lives they have already built.”
Andersen noted that DED is not a new program and not a path to citizenship. It is a time-limited presidential tool that requires no act of Congress. It comes from the president’s constitutional authority over foreign relations. People covered by DED are not removed while it is in force, can work, and do not accrue unlawful presence. Any DED directive should exclude criminals, gang members, and anyone posing a public safety or national security risk.
“This is not a new Republican idea,” Andersen said. “President Trump granted DED for Venezuelans on January 19, 2021 — the last full day of his first term — citing the humanitarian collapse under Maduro and the foreign-policy interest of the United States. The authority is the same one sitting on the president’s desk now. Republican Representatives Salazar, Díaz-Balart, and Giménez have all gone on record this summer urging new protection for Venezuelans already here. That is the South Florida Republican record.”
“My wife, Yula, was born in Venezuela,” Andersen said. “We live in Palm Aire, in Pompano Beach, and we are raising our young daughter here among Latin American friends and neighbors. Some of those same neighbors are staring at an October deadline on their work papers. We chose this community on purpose. I will not look them in the eye and pretend this is someone else’s problem.”
Andersen contrasted his call with the record of his general election opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is running in a district she does not live in.
“Debbie Wasserman Schultz has represented South Florida for twenty-one years. She will say she could not act because Republicans controlled Congress. That answer does not apply here. DED is not a vote. It is a presidential executive action. It does not need a majority. It needs one call. She had two Democratic presidents, direct access to the White House, and twenty-one years of relationships in Washington. My family lives on these streets. I am making the ask she never made.”
Andersen said he is urging the White House to pair the oil agreement with a time-limited DED for eligible Venezuelans already present in the United States. October 2 is not a theory. It is a date on a work permit in someone’s home in Broward. The president does not need a new law to meet that date.
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