Why are there fewer illegal Venezuelan immigrants crossing the border?

The crisis at the border is never-ending. The Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) reported this Wednesday that it had 309,221 encounters nationwide with illegal immigrants in October. This is an increase of more than 30,000 encounters compared to the same period last year when there were 278,317. However, the office explained that the number of encounters on the southern border with illegal Venezuelan immigrants decreased by 60%.

Why is this important?

Joe Biden's administration has defended its open borders policy. This caused a border crisis when hundreds of illegal immigrants came flooding in. At one point, most of them were Venezuelans. This was reflected in September when approximately 50,000 Venezuelans illegally crossed the border between the United States and Mexico. This was a record number and was revealed by Department of Homeland Security statistics obtained by CBS News.

In fact, a study published by Pew Research showed that Venezuelans are the fastest-growing group of Hispanic origin in the United States. The Venezuelan population increased by 169% and went from 240,000 to 640,000 citizens between 2010 and 2021.

Venezuelans' fear of being deported

The reason why the number of Venezuelan immigrants arriving mainly at the southern border decreased in October is due to their fear of being deported and handed over to the Venezuelan regime, which has been accused of violating their human rights. A few weeks ago, Joe Biden's administration began deporting those who illegally came into the country.

But that's not all. The Biden administration is handing these people over to Nicolás Maduro's dictatorship. They are detained by regime officials upon arrival. Biden's complicity with Maduro is what has made people from Venezuela decide not to come to the U.S.

And that is something that the Biden administration recognizes. In its October report, Customs and Border Protection highlighted that "In conjunction with our resumption of removal flights to Venezuela consistent with delivering consequences for those who cross the border unlawfully, CBP saw a 65 percent decrease in southwest border encounters of Venezuelans in the second half of October, compared to the second half of September."

"At the Simón Bolívar airport, there was a strong presence of police and intelligence agents due to the arrival of the migrants, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior. Passing quickly through the disembarkation area, the head of the identification authority (SAIME), Gustavo Vizcaíno, said that deportees would be fingerprinted," according to the Diario de las Américas.

This situation was criticized by David Smolansky, who was Commissioner of the Secretary General of the OAS for the Venezuelan Migrant and Refugee Crisis. "Deploying a repressive and torturing agency to 'welcome' them, intimidating those who until today were immigrants. That will damage these people's mental health."

Venezuelans are fleeing because of socialism

Venezuelans are increasingly fleeing their country due to crime, the humanitarian crisis and Maduro's dictatorship. A HumVenezuela report, collected by Human Rights Watch, stated in March that "most Venezuelans face difficulties in accessing food, with 10.9 million undernourished or chronically hungry. Some 4.3 million are deprived of food, sometimes going days without eating."

What was Joe Biden's policy?

While the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela continues, Joe Biden has only focused on pleasing dictator Nicolás Maduro. Not only does he hand over Venezuelan immigrants who are left unprotected when the United States puts them into the hands of the regime, but he has also lifted some sanctions that were imposed by President Donald Trump on members of the Maduro administration.

That is why Biden struck a deal with Maduro on October 5. The U.S. government announced that Venezuelans would be sent back to their country of origin. On October 18, DHS conducted the first deportation flight to Venezuela and flights have been conducted regularly since then. This Wednesday the office also asked Venezuelans not to come to the border.

CBP's message to anyone thinking about entering the United States illegally at the southwest border is simple: don't do it. "When noncitizens cross the border unlawfully, they put their lives in peril. The U.S. Border Patrol has undertaken significant efforts in recent years to expand capacity to aid and rescue individuals in distress," CBP said.