Venezuela’s Election Could Result in Millions Heading for the U.S.
FAIR Take | August 2024
World leaders have been closely tracking the results and aftermath of Venezuela’s hotly contested July 28th presidential election. That country’s strongman leader Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner, despite international acknowledgement that he actually lost the election in a landslide to the opposition. Average Americans and local policy-makers such as mayors, state legislators, and even Governors are also watching the elections, acutely aware that many of those Venezuelan voters may soon be illegally living in their communities.
Sadly, the election results may lead to historic numbers of Venezuelans leaving their country. New surveys already show that anywhere from 17 percent to 33 percent of Venezuelans intend to emigrate if Maduro holds power. If accurate, this could mean the departure of approximately 4.8 and 9.3 million people from Venezuela. Unfortunately, the continued open-borders policies of the Biden Administration, which have already released record numbers of Venezuelans into American communities, will encourage more Venezuelans to come to the U.S. instead of settling in nearby countries.
Until the Biden-Harris Administration implemented its open-borders agenda, mass emigration of Venezuelans was not an issue for the United States, despite Venezuela being subject to long-term problems. Millions of Venezuelans have left their country over the past decade, but the vast majority resettled in nearby countries, with about 84 percent of the 7.7 million Venezuelans who have left Venezuela since 2014 settling in neighboring Latin American countries.
But as FAIR has documented, the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies have now made coming to the U.S. a relatively easy option for Venezuelans. A central reason for this was the administration’s Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) parole program. In fact, until its CHNV program was suspended last month after FAIR exposed rampant fraud, the administration was actively helping illegal aliens from Venezuela fly right into the U.S. without a visa.
When border enforcement is abandoned, foreign events, such as an election in Venezuela, go from an international news item to an acute concern for average Americans. The number of Venezuelans illegally crossing into the U.S. has already overwhelmed border agents and our immigration courts. Venezuelan gang members and other criminals are wreaking havoc in U.S. cities, victimizing unsuspecting Americans. On top of those concerns, illegal immigration is already costing the U.S. taxpayer a net figure of $150.7 billion a year. With the expected surge of Venezuelans, the cost to taxpayers of mass migration will only mount. Only secure borders can reverse these problems.