Congressmen demanding visas for Venezuelan illegals

Congressmen demanding visas for Venezuelan illegals

The immigration reform group Numbers USA is opposing an effort in Congress to grant amnesty to illegal aliens from the South American country of Venezuela. Five Republican members of Congress have sent a letter to President Bush urging him to order the Homeland Security Department to temporarily stop deporting Venezuelans on the basis that some might face persecution from their country's government.

The lawmakers argue that Venezuelans currently in the U.S. illegally should be granted temporary protected status because the socialist government of Hugo Chavez is "persecuting its citizens for their political views." But Rosemary Jenks, director of government affairs for Numbers USA, says it makes no sense to have an immigration policy based on national origin.

"Dictatorships are not within the definition of what might qualify a group for temporary protected status -- that's the first thing," Jenks points out. "Secondly," she says, "if we were to grant temporary protected status to every national of a dictatorship who can get to the United States, legally or illegally, we would be in a world of hurt here. There are too many people who fit under that definition."

Also, the immigration reform activist notes, the United States already has an asylum process specifically for people who face persecution; they are simply required to establish that claim on an individual basis. In light of this, she insists there is no reason to give Venezuelan nationals special treatment simply because their country has become a dictatorship.

"Any Venezuelan in the United States, whether legally or illegally, already has the ability to apply for asylum," Jenks emphasizes. "And if they have a specific reason why the government would target them and persecute them -- or may persecute them -- they can get asylum here," she says.

"So there's no need for opening up the immigration doors to an entirely new category of people," the Numbers USA official continues. In fact, she adds, doing so "is very likely to actually create an incentive for Venezuelans to come to the United States illegally."

The letter to President George W. Bush urging that the U.S. temporarily cease deporting Venezuelan illegal aliens was sent by Representative Jerry Weller of Illinois and Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Mario Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Connie Mack of Florida.