Fox Business guest on deportations of legal Venezuelan migrants, “To send them back to Venezuela is the worst possible thing for them. … but I kind of want to see them shipped back to Venezuela”
On Mornings with Maria, CIS' Todd Bensman celebrates the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans
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From the February 3, 2025, edition of Fox Business' Mornings with Maria
MARIA BARTIROMO (ANCHOR): You know, President Trump said that Venezuela will now take back migrants deported from the United States. He posted on Truth Social saying it includes illegals, quote, ‘who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua. Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back.' You saw what happened with Colombia, the President there urging its citizens illegally in the United States to immediately quit their jobs and return home, Todd. Your reaction to what has taken place here between Venezuela and Colombia.
TODD BENSMAN (GUEST): It's monumental. You know, the Biden-Harris --
BARTIROMO: It really is.
BENSMAN: -- administration could have done this at any time. And not only that, but Colombia, and China's probably next, all of these recalcitrant countries around the world are going to have to take back our deportees and as Trump says they're going to like it. And so, and it's very important to also realize that, just before he left office, Biden expanded Temporary Protected Status on 600,000 Venezuelans. That is now revoked and everything is set for those hundreds and hundreds of thousands, one of the largest groups, nationality groups, inside the country that crossed illegally, to be deported back. I want to say one other thing about the Venezuelans, is the vast majority of them didn't even come back, didn't even come from Venezuela. They came from Colombia, Ecuador, places they've been living for years and years with asylum, with work authorization, et cetera. So to send them back to Venezuela is the worst possible thing for them. They probably would prefer to be sent back to these third other countries where they were living happily and prosperously for years, never needed temporary protected status, --
BARTIROMO: Oh, wow.
BENSMAN: -- never needed to come in here at all. The Trump administration should be shipping them to all of those other countries but I kind of want to see them shipped back to Venezuela.