Amidst escalating violence, Respond continues to support Venezuelan asylum seekers
The violence following last week's elections in Venezuela compounds with decades of political and economic collapse, political persecution, and centuries of imperialism and foreign intervention. Let’s examine the US’ role in exacerbating the dire conditions and forcing even more Venezuelans to seek asylum.
The elections came during an economic crisis in Venezuela caused in part by U.S.-led sanctions. According to the U.N., more than 7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2015 - this is the same year that the US government implemented sanctions specifically targeting the Maduro government.
In 2017, the US barred Venezuela from financial markets, blacklisted high-ranking officials, and targeted the Venezuelan economy, especially the oil industry (Venezuela Analysis). When this happened, there was a 71% economic contraction in Venezuela, which is 3x as great as the U.S. Great Depression and greater than many economic collapses recorded in modern history (Washington Post).
In 2021, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that approximately 4.3 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela lacked access to food, housing, and stable employment in Latin America and the Caribbean due to surging costs of living, high unemployment rates, and the fall out from Covid-19.
In 2022, the UNHCR reported that 264,000 Venezuelans applied for asylum — an 186% increase from previous years. During this time, many Venezuelan asylum seekers were detained by US border agents and sent to Mexico. Al Jazeera documented first hand accounts that reported border agents citing policy Title 42, “which enabled US immigration authorities to expel migrants and asylum seekers to Mexico under the pretext of the COVID-19 pandemic”; most Venezuelans seeking asylum had already been vaccinated.
In May 2023, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced temporary legal status for an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived by July 31. Asylum was withheld from Venezuelans following the July 31, 2023 cut off.
“It is critical that Venezuelans understand that those who have arrived here after July 31, 2023, are not eligible for such protection, and instead will be removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay," Mayorkas said.
He continued, “Our borders are not open. People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed” (PBS).
Late last year, the US government temporarily eased sanctions, authorizing some transactions to the oil and gas sector with Venezuela, but this temporary lift ended in April 2024 and was not renewed.
With the violence exacerbated by last weeks elections compounding what is already centuries and decades of mass forced migration of Venezuelans, it is an important moment to raise awareness about the abusive conditions and asylum policies Venezuelans are subjected to in the U.S. and other countries
For years, we have supported Venezuelan migrants who have been harassed by the military, denied food boxes and permits to run business to support their families, and threatened by the government-backed paramilitary groups. We remain ready to support Venezuelans who have had to flee their homes and who are seeking safety elsewhere.
We call upon the United States government to expedite asylum and humanitarian parole requests and to support Venezuelans seeking asylum and parole in the United States by providing them work visas within 30 days of arrival, down from the average 3.5 months for humanitarian parolees and 180 days for asylum seekers. We condemn the deportations of Venezuelan asylum seekers at the hands of both the United States and several Latin American countries, where asylum seekers face punishment upon arrival instead of desperately needed support.
