Posted on 01/25/2007 5:13:49 PM PST by Kitten Festival
Immigration: Leftists tout Hugo Chavez's trip down the socialist road as "reform" that rights past wrongs. What they never notice is that as property is confiscated and freedoms evaporate, talented Venezuelans are fleeing.
In 2005, over 10,000 Venezuelans sought permanent residence in the U.S., more than twice as many as who sought admission to the U.S. in 1999, when Chavez first took office. Of these, about a tenth were people fleeing political persecution for asylum.
As Chavez confiscates productive farms, sends red-shirted political rabble to take over apartments, shuts down TV stations, restricts government jobs and services to his friends, abandons the capital to crime, boosts Cuba's security presence, puts armed troops on every corner, launches neighborhood spying committees and forces Marxist indoctrination into even private schools, more Venezuelans find they can no longer endure it. They're leaving.
Venezuelan immigration to the U.S. has gone up more than 5,000% since 2000. Canada has seen a similar surge.
The U.S.-Venezuelan community, centered around the Doral neighborhood of Miami and in the "Little Caracas" city of Weston just north of it, numbers at least 40,000 and may be as high as 180,000, the Miami Herald reports. Houston and Calgary also have Venezuelan communities. In New York City, emigrants from the South American nation are opening chic Venezuelan restaurants.
Who's coming? Not farmworkers or day laborers. Sadly for Venezuela, we're getting the cream of the crop. The doctors working in department stores and teachers working in fast food places are among the many coming here who've had some opportunity to develop their skills as professionals and entrepreneurs.
Weston and Doral are full of business startups, beginning with Venezuelans who own bakeries and restaurants and other businesses. Most assimilate here swiftly. Among them also are software developers, advertising account executives, doctors, scientists...
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
I understand that the 'monied' have already fled.
I think they're still coming. I have friends still there, but all are preparing to flee.
bump
Personally, I welcome any self-supporting Venezuelan who wants to flee Chavez's brand of communism. And since I live in Orlando, many of them may someday be my neighbors.
The US benefits with this influx of wealth and talent.....so predictable.
Hugo, you're such a putz.
Sounds like Cuba all over again.
They're all over Houston today.
What's unfortunate is that the people leaving are the ones who would otherwise vote against Chavez and work to remove him.
If Venezuela is left only with Chavez's supporters, there's no hope for a reversal.
The Cubans were excellent. I have no problem with the Venezuelans. Besides, they will be 100% Republicans.
Chavez and his Cuban thugs DO NOT CARE. $12 billion is already missing in Venezuelan oil revenues. Hugo's Swiss bank accounts are filling rapidly.
This is great news and that's how our immigration system should function. Open it up to the most talented people around the world while kicking out the sloths who just want the freebies and citizenship.
We should also get those Zimbabwe farmers too.
We should get every person in Rhodesia and South Africa of European descent; they become instant republicans.
Saw the same thing with Columbians coming to NYC in the late 60's.
Communism just doesn't work. Apparently Chavez is too stupid to have learned from the failures of the USSR, N. Korea, Cuba, etc.
Ditto.
Much like the Jews and some others fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938.
Your assumption appears to be that he wants it to work in the favor of all of his countrymen. It is working just fine if he doesn't care about them but cares only about his own power and wealth.
Hugo knows exactly what he's doing. He wants to be just like Castro. Forbes ranks Castro as one of the richest men in the world. Hugo doesn't care about fleeing brain power--in fact he wishes it that way--no one of any brains or money to oppose him.
Unless it ends up getting him strung up over a lamp post.
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