The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Give us your Venezuelans, yearning to breathe free

Fleeing a socialist nation, they’ll vote Republican

Conventional commentary regards the thousands who are illegally crossing America’s southern border as feedstock for the Democratic Party.

The thinking goes: Historically, immigrants have aligned with the Democratic Party, perceived as more welcoming of the tired, poor and huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Thus, the Democratic Biden administration has opened the door on on the southern border, counting on the grateful (illegal) immigrants to give thanks when they vote (illegally).

And yet, the Venezuelans are different. Like the Cubans, the Venezuelans are fleeing an oppressive, socialist government. They know first-hand exactly what it is like to live under the autocratic system that robs you of your liberty and all that goes with it. As the AP reported:

It’s a frequent scene across the U.S.-Mexico border at a time of swelling migration. But these aren’t farmers and low-wage workers from Mexico or Central America, who make up the bulk of those crossing. They’re bankers, doctors and engineers from Venezuela, and they’re arriving in record numbers as they flee turmoil in the country with the world’s largest oil reserves and pandemic-induced pain across South America.

Nearly 6 million people have poured out of Venezuela since 2013 when Nicolás Maduro abetted by his successor, Hugo Chavez wrecked one of the wealthiest nations. Some 17,000 Venezuelans have crossed the American border illegally since January.

Unlike some leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union who traveled to the socialist country and pronounced everything peachy keen, these are accomplished people who have had freedom and opportunity yanked out from under them and who know that the United States offers them emancipation.

And so do the farmers and low-wage workers the AP mentions. All of them are busting their butts to get into a nation that we’re told is racist to the core. Democrats ought to keep in mind that Hispanics tend to be culturally conservative and that some are switching sides to vote for Republicans.

Don’t read me wrong. I’m whole heartedly against illegal immigration. It’s unfair to the millions of immigrants who played by the rules, patiently navigating America’s complex immigration rules. It’s flouting the law, abetted by the Biden administration.

It just occurs to me that the far left might get their just deserts for encouraging that law-breaking.

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Tags:
illegal immigration, U.S. southern border, Venezuelans