The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
American is getting ready for yet another immigration debate. President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress shook immigration restrictionists when they introduced their immigration reform bill last month.
“Many on the right are raising old concerns about immigration once again — concerns that this bill will mean in ‘open borders,’ that amnesty will result in millions of new Democrat voters and that legal and illegal immigrants alike will take away jobs from Americans, be a burden on taxpayers and fundamentally disrupt American culture.
“But what if I told you that the fastest-growing immigrant group in America is bucking that narrative? Would you be able to guess which country they come from? The answer — by a large margin — is my home country, Venezuela.
“The reason Venezuelans flee our country is pretty clear to anyone who takes the time to read about it: A 21-year-old socialist regime. Yet, despite the desperate conditions Venezuelans are fleeing and the few years most have lived in the United States, we’re one of the most successful immigrant groups measured by education, employment and family structure. And we aren’t really Democrats, either.
“Venezuelans have been escaping our country for a long time now. Of the roughly 30 million people who lived in Venezuela in 2013, 5.5 million have fled, which is nearly one out of every six people. Of these, most have resettled in other Latin American countries, namely Colombia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador. Of course, the U.S. got its fair share of us, too — just between 2014 and 2019, the number of Venezuelan immigrants in the United States more than doubled to over 460.000, more than any other immigrant group. . . .
“We’re not blue voters looking to get ‘woke.’ We’re a voting bloc already won by conservatives. . . . “Venezuelan-Americans seem to have voted for Trump by a 2-1 margin in November and the most Venezuelan precinct in the country swung towards the GOP by a record 44 points. . . .
“Immigration restrictionists should do some more research on the immigration they so adamantly reject. After all, as an immigrant group, Venezuelans are clearly showing that they’re wrong — and we aren’t the only ones. – Venezuelans Are Proof that Immigrants Aren’t GOP’s Enemies, Daniel Dimartino, Orlando Sentinel, 3/9/21 [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: The writer of this article makes some true statements, but then draws a false conclusion from them. He says that many Venezuelan immigrants have been successful. This is true, in large part, because they were successful in their home country. Until recent decades, Venezuela was the richest country in South America with a strong and vibrant middle-class. Unfortunately, the doctrines of socialism seduced many Venezuelans, which gave rise to the left-wing dictatorships of Hugo Chavez and Nicholas Maduro. Their policies made Venezuela an unpleasant place for economically successful people. Many of them left, with a significant number coming to the United States.
While many of these people have done well, it is by no means clear that they are mostly Republican conservative stalwarts, despite what “seems” true to this writer. One survey found that less than five-percent of Venezuelans who are registered to vote are Republican, compared with one-third who are Democrats. Some want liberal immigration laws so that they can bring in their relatives. Others, despite their personal experience, may not understand the connection between socialism and the sad state of their homeland. This is similar to the behavior of many affluent Americans who flee left-wing states like California but continue to vote in their new home states for the policies that caused them to leave.
In any case, it doesn’t follow that the success of some talented immigrants justifies the massive level of immigration proposed by the Biden Administration. Biden wants to increase legal immigration, now at the highest sustained level in our history, while opening our border to almost unchecked illegal immigration. Most legal immigrants come on the basis of family connections, rather than skills needed by our country. Illegal immigrants, of course, come without any standards of selection. These Biden proposals, contrary to the writer’s assertion, will not end well.