By Jessica Donati and Dion Nissenbaum 

WASHINGTON -- As an embattled Nicolás Maduro clings to power in Venezuela, the Trump administration has deadlocked over one of its remaining options for bolstering the opposition and pressuring Mr. Maduro, according to American officials and an administration email exchange.

Some in the Trump administration and supporters of its policy toward Caracas are concerned that momentum is slowing in the push to pry Mr. Maduro from power, despite efforts to impose increasingly dire sanctions on the Venezuelan government and rally support for opposition leader Juan Guaidó.

Special envoy Elliott Abrams, the State Department official who is leading U.S. diplomatic efforts in Venezuela, advocates granting special immigration status for Venezuelans residing illegally in the U.S. as a way to support the Venezuelan people and pressure Mr. Maduro.

The proposal would involve a legislative fix to let more than 70,000 Venezuelans stay in the U.S. rather than returning them against their will to a country in the throes of a humanitarian crisis.

But key officials of the White House National Security Council opposes such action, saying it would be inconsistent with President Trump's crackdown on immigration, asylum seekers and refugees.

Mr. Trump has curtailed refugee admissions, pushed construction of a border wall, canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, blocked travel by citizens of several Muslim-majority nations and taken other steps to markedly tighten arrivals by foreigners. The administration has also banned members of Mr. Maduro's regime.

Mr. Abrams favors offering a form of the Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure programs. Both grant respite to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, as a result of reasons ranging from overstaying their visas to sneaking across the border. These people would otherwise be at risk of being deported by U.S. officials.

Mr. Abrams has argued that Venezuela's dire economic and political conditions would justify the move. "We have absolutely got to avoid any noncriminal deportations while we sort it out. To send some family back to [Venezuela] now would make us all laughingstocks," Mr. Abrams wrote in a sharply worded email sent Feb. 24 to the National Security Council and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

But the senior director of the National Security Council's Western Hemisphere Affairs, Mauricio Claver-Carone, replied the same day that such a move would open the administration to charges of hypocrisy after it has rolled back such immigration protections for people from other countries.

"Understood," he replied, "But so would arguably sending [the] message that Maduro isn't going anywhere and we're in for [the] long-game. It would create [a] false sense of confidence for regime elites. Plus, it opens up inconsistencies, of which we're going to be accused vis-à-vis other countries."

The issue remains unresolved despite weeks of efforts by Mr. Abrams to push through relief and growing calls from senators from both parties for the administration to act on the issue.

A bipartisan letter signed by 24 senators and led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called March 7 for the Trump administration to grant Venezuelans TPS status.

"As I have said and testified, the question is under careful review within the administration," Mr. Abrams said when asked to comment on the email exchange. "I am confident we will reach a consensus soon." Mr. Claver-Carone, meanwhile, didn't respond to questions about the emails.

The standoff underscores a clash between the Trump administration's push to overhaul immigration and its top foreign-policy priorities, with more than 50 countries joining the U.S. in backing Mr. Guaidó as president while Mr. Maduro continues to hold power.

"The administration has sanctioned scores of individuals, yanked the visas of several hundred, and imposed financial and now oil sanctions," said Cynthia Arnson, director of the Wilson Center's Latin American Program. "Short of invading, it's not clear that the administration has much left in the tool kit, beyond perhaps convincing other countries to join us in the economic sanctions."

Trump administration officials have continued to hint at the possible use of force in Venezuela, most recently last week, when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo closed the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, saying it had become a "constraint" on U.S. action. But top administration officials overseeing Venezuela policy say military action remains unlikely. Instead, they advocate for additional economic sanctions against Mr. Maduro and against Cuba, a top Maduro ally.

Mr. Abrams on Monday was to meet with Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, and other officials in Rome to discuss the crisis. Moscow has extended an economic lifeline over the years to Mr. Maduro and has voiced support for his government.

The State Department said Monday that Mr. Guaidó's supporters assumed control of two military attaché facilities in Washington and the Venezuelan consulate in New York. The Trump administration is "pleased to support these requests," spokesman Robert Palladino said.

But the Trump administration also is concerned that momentum is slowing and that it is running out of options. Diplomatic efforts to expand the list of countries that recognize the young charismatic Mr. Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate head of state have stalled. Florida-based activists, who have helped fuel the administration's anti-Maduro push, have expressed disillusionment.

"Our expectation was this would happen quickly. It's kind of naive," said Miami activist Juan Correa Villalonga, a Venezuelan in exile. "The sense from a lot of Venezuelans is this is the last opportunity. You can only take so much disappointment. People's hopes and expectations are so high because of the overwhelming international response."

A senior administration official said that immigration protection was a complex policy issue that needed extensive review. "The best outcome for Venezuelans living in the United States is for a peaceful return to democracy and stability in Venezuela, which is what U.S. policy seeks to achieve," the official said. "The administration is considering options to protect Venezuelans consistent with the president's policy."

U.S. efforts in Venezuela suffered a blow last week after Washington was unable to obtain an extension of security guarantees from the Maduro regime for the American Embassy there, prompting the U.S. to withdraw all personnel. Officials worked out a temporary arrangement in January after Mr. Maduro first gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave, but negotiations with Mr. Maduro to guarantee the embassy's security failed this month.

The last of the U.S. diplomats arrived in Washington last week, Mr. Abrams said on Friday, asserting that the growing chaos is "obviously going to shorten the life of the regime."

"I can't give dates, but it seems to me it's obvious that more and more Venezuelans will be coming to the conclusion that there is no decent future for the country with Maduro in power," said Mr. Abrams, who has briefed reporters at least three times in the past week.

For now, the U.S. is continuing to vocally support Mr. Guaidó, revoke U.S. visas for Venezuelans linked to Mr. Maduro and build up aid supplies across Venezuela's borders in Brazil and Colombia as blackouts worsen the crisis inside the country.

Guaidó supporters are worried, according to Helena Poleo, a political consultant in Miami. "People are starting to get antsy," she said. "We feel like it should be faster. But unfortunately, this is the way these things move."

--Alex Leary contributed to this article.

Write to Jessica Donati at jessica.donati@wsj.com and Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2019 19:45 ET (23:45 GMT)