U.S. President Donald Trump could protect a very specific group of immigrants. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Why Trump may protect 1 group of immigrants The president may offer Venezuelans protections, in a move that could help win over Hispanic voters in Florida ahead of the 2020 election.

President Donald Trump is considering shielding one group of migrants in the U.S. — Venezuelans — as he looks to win a big political prize: Florida.

Florida leaders have been urging Trump to not deport Venezuelans fleeing their economically distressed nation to the United States, with some even ensuring him the move will help him win the all-important battleground state of Florida in 2020, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Trump officials have been receptive. According to six people, including senators, congressional aides and an administration official, Trump officials are discussing allowing Venezuelans to live and work legally in the United States through one of two existing programs used to protect immigrants who come from nations that are devastated by war or natural disasters.

The move might cut against Trump’s broader immigration record — the president has pushed to end the temporary legal status of other migrant groups in the U.S. and tried to nix legal protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. But it could boost his political chances in 2020 as Trump works to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

Offering such protections would play well with Hispanics in Florida — not just the state’s sizable Venezuelan-American population but like-minded Cuban Americans. It’s a state Trump needs to win a second term. And although he narrowly won Florida in 2016, Trump’s approval rating there has dipped dramatically since.

In June, Trump kicked off his re-election campaign at a boisterous rally in Florida, where the campaign and the Republican National Committee already have 18 staffers.

“It’s good politics,” said a top Florida Republican who talks to the president. “I think it’s going to happen. It makes sense on so many levels.”

Still, the move could anger Trump supporters who backed him in 2016 based on his vows to crack down on immigration by building a wall on the southern border and ending Obama-era programs that protected immigrants from deportation. In the past, immigrants who have fled their native countries and come to the United States are allowed to apply for protected status for 18 months at a time with the option to renew. But critics, including Trump, have argued that immigrants abuse the system by renewing repeatedly for decades, even though they don't become lawful permanent residents.

Still, Trump relenting on this one issue likely wouldn’t serve as a deal breaker for his backers, given the president’s continued harsh rhetoric and actions on immigration.

Even those who oppose Trump acknowledge that protecting Venezuelans — through either the Temporary Protective Status or Deferred Enforced Departure programs — would be “a smart good political move” for the president as he tries to show he’s not monolithic on the issue of immigration.

Steve Schale, a Floridian who worked for Barack Obama’s campaigns and now backs former vice president Joe Biden, a top Trump rival in the state, said the decision could help Trump win over enough voters to make a difference in a state where races are won and lost on small margins.

“Florida is an incredibly tight state,” he said. “It’s about how you carve out a few points.”

Perhaps no state is more important to Trump than Florida. The nation’s battleground state is home to several Trump resorts, including Mar-a-Lago, where he spends many weekends during the winter — more than 100 days so far since inauguration — and where 29 electoral votes are up for grabs in the 2020 presidential race.

“You can't win if you’re a Republican without Florida,” said the Republican close to Trump. “And I think the campaign knows it.”

In June, Trump kicked off his re-election campaign at a boisterous rally in Florida, where the campaign and the Republican National Committee already have 18 staffers and thousands of volunteers.

“I am thrilled to be back in my second home,” Trump told the thousands of supporters gathered in Orlando. “That's what it is. It's my second home. In many cases, I think I could say it's my first home, if you want to know the truth. It’s the great state of Florida.”

In 2016, a significant number of Cuban Americans in South Florida — who tend to disproportionately vote Republican — didn’t back Trump after he ran against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, in the Republican presidential primary. But Cuban Americans heavily supported a pair of Florida Republicans who Trump endorsed last year — Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis. In 2020, Trump is looking to win over those voters.

“There’s obviously a significant Venezuelan population and the president’s strong positions against those dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela resonate tremendously with those populations, so we think we’ll do very well there,” said Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh.

Democrats recognize that Trump is making a push for Hispanics, and have launched a Spanish-language radio program to counter the Trump campaign’s outreach to Venezuelan population.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the State Department.

“We cannot comment on internal discussions,” a State Department spokesperson said. “However, we are focused on transformation in Venezuela and getting that country back on the road to stability for the benefit of all Venezuelans.”

The renewed push to protect Venezuelans came after Congress failed this summer to pass a bill to allow them to stay for 18 months in the U.S., with opportunities for extensions. More than 4 million Venezuelans have fled their country’s turmoil in recent years, according to the United Nations. About 200,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. would be eligible for the bill’s protections, according to a Congressional Budget Office review.

“I definitely think there is a solution we can get to,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a vocal Trump surrogate and adviser.

Rubio, Scott and DeSantis have spoken directly to Trump about the issue, according to three of the six people. Scott also said he has made his case to Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of Citizenship and Immigration Services and one of the president’s top advisers on immigration.

“They can’t go back,” Scott said in a recent interview about Venezuelans. “They are in this ridiculous limbo. … We’ve got to do something to take care of them.”

Another option the Trump administration is considering is a policy that would be an alternative to the more formal TPS program. “Basically limited enforcement on Venezuelans who are here,” according to a source close to Scott.

Rubio and Scott deny that political considerations have entered any discussions about the situation. But two people familiar with the administration's discussions say some officials have tried to persuade Trump in part by highlighting the political benefits.

“Politically I don’t think there’s a downside,” said former Florida Republican Congressman David Jolly, an outspoken Trump critic. “The political impact would be marginal at best, but Florida elections are decided at the margins.”

In recent months, Trump has made toppling Maduro one of his top foreign policy proposals. In January, he recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate interim president. Since then, he has hit Maduro and his associates with severe economic sanctions, and even floated the possibility of military action.

“Obviously there is a large Venezuelan community in Florida, but how can you on one hand have foreign policy that says Maduro is a genocidal thug starving the people of Venezuela and at the same time send people back?” said a person familiar with the matter.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Elliott Abrams, the State Department’s special envoy for Venezuela, have been urging Trump to take action. Even Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior policy adviser and most influential advocate for stricter immigration policies, has accepted that it will happen, according to one person familiar with his thinking.

The TPS program, which Congress created in nearly three decades ago, has allowed more than 300,000 immigrants from about a dozen countries to legally remain in the United States.

The Trump administration has tried to let the program expire for most countries, including Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras. But a federal judge in California temporarily stopped the government from terminating the program for some countries. Trump has long called on Congress to address the issue.

"Much like the rest of our humanitarian immigration programs, TPS is being abused," said RJ Hauman, government relations director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which pushes for immigration restrictions. “If it can't be fixed by Congress, then President Trump should avoid any new designations or extensions. He must remember this is about policy, not politics.”

Gary Fineout and Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.