Thread: U.S. faced with influx of Venezuelans applying for asylum

Posted on Thu, Mar. 01, 2007
U.S. faced with influx of Venezuelans applying for asylum
By Vanessa Bauza



FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Glenda Bustamante was so confident President Hugo Chavez could end Venezuela's corruption and inequality that she voted for him in his first election in 1998. But the former reporter grew disillusioned with Chavez as he and his allies gained control over the legislature, courts and oil industry.

She quit her job at a government-run radio station in 2001 and joined the opposition after supervisors pressured her to cover Chavez's government more favorably. Leaving Venezuela three years later was a painful, last resort. Ultimately she felt it was unsafe to remain there.

"One of the beautiful things this county gives me is the ability to go out and feel secure," said Bustamante, who now lives in Coral Springs, Fla.. She gained asylum in 2004 and last month applied for permanent U.S. residency.

As Chavez has systematically ramped up his socialist revolution, U.S. asylum officers have seen a surge in applications from Venezuelans who feel he is crafting an authoritarian state. The year Chavez was first elected, only 49 cases were filed and 14 Venezuelans were granted U.S. asylum, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2006, the number of cases filed by Venezuelans jumped to 872 and 1,086 Venezuelans received asylum.

Asylum is granted to people who are unable to return to their home countries because of a credible fear of persecution. Cases may be filed by individuals or families.

The rise in Venezuelan applications comes at a time when claims for U.S. asylum from most countries have dropped significantly.

The approval rate for applications filed by Venezuelans also is up, from 26 percent in 1998 to 51 percent last year. That's nearly as high as the rate of approval for Cuban asylum applicants, one of the highest approval rates for Latin American applicants.

Venezuelan asylum applicants are turning to South Florida's Cuban American legislators to bolster their claims. Ana Carbonell, chief of staff for Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said her office tries to improve Venezuelans' approval rates in much the same way it did for Colombians who fled violence in their country in the late 1990s.

"We pass along information we receive of what's going on in Venezuela and send letters of support for cases that come our way," said Carbonell.

Community leaders say some Venezuelans are caught in legal limbo as their temporary visas expire and their asylum requests are denied. Elio Aponte, who heads the Organization of Venezuelans in Exile, has collected about 1,200 signatures for a petition drive aimed at appealing to President Bush for a special temporary protection that would delay deportation for Venezuelans. Aponte said it could keep Venezuelans who were aligned with the opposition from facing reprisals at home. It's easy for him to be sympathetic. The former software engineer also has an asylum claim pending.

Most observers expect the number of Venezuelan asylum seekers to continue to grow as Chavez accelerates his "21st century socialism." After Chavez announced in January he would nationalize utilities, the number of Venezuelans inquiring about visas from the U.S. embassy in Caracas doubled to more than 800 a day, said embassy spokesman Brian Penn.

"The call center has a real difficult time keeping up," said Penn. "They had one day where it hit over 900 calls in one day."

Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, said the surge in asylum claims does not reflect deteriorating human rights in his country. He attributed it to rocky diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington and said some Venezuelans are taking advantage of the tensions and overheated rhetoric to obtain legal status here.

"Venezuelans come and go from their country," Alvarez said. "There is no political persecution in Venezuela."

Carlos Fernandez disagreed. As the former head of Venezuela's largest business association Fernandez helped organize a general strike in 2003 which crippled the country's economy and tried to topple Chavez. He said charges pending against him in Venezuela, including treason and civil rebellion, are politically motivated.

Nearly four years after he fled Venezuela on a boat and filed for asylum, Fernandez, who lives in Weston, is waiting for an immigration judge to hear his case in April. He hopes asylum officers give his family the opportunity to start anew.

"I hope they understand ... the situation of those of us who have struggled for democracy and deserve asylum to live in peace in the United States without fear of persecution," Fernandez said. "I am not a burden for this government. I produce, but everything depends on a favorable decision."


http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 808466.htm

I am sorry but they voted their problem into office a second time. We don't need them. Like Americans they need to live with it and not try to come to america. We don't want them. Americans have no place to run to so why do we allow everyone to come here.

Americans are losing America because of our corrupt government.