Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. senators proposed legislation on Thursday that would let an estimated 72,000 Venezuelans remain in the United States after fleeing chaos in their country. Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bob Menendez introduced the legislation along with Democrats Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy and Cory Booker. It would immediately grant “Temporary Protected Status” to allow Venezuelans who passed security checks to remain in the United States for 18 months. There was no immediate indication of whether the Senate’s Republican leaders would allow the measure to come up for a vote.