On Wednesday the Biden administration announced that it will offer work permits and deportation protections to over 400,000 Venezuelans who have arrived in the United States since 2021.
On paper this is a humanitarian gesture, a recognition of the miseries of life under the Maduro dictatorship.
In political practice it’s a flailing attempt to respond to a sudden rise in anti-immigration sentiment in blue cities, particularly New York, as the surge of migrants overwhelms social services and shelters.
In Eagle Pass, Texas, The Wall Street Journal reports that in a week, an estimated 10,000 migrants have entered the city, whose entire population is less than 30,000.
And policies that make it easier to work in those cities, like the Biden move, are likely to encourage more migration until the border is more stable and secure.
Persons:
Biden, Eric Adams, Kathy Hochul
Organizations:
Biden, Street Journal, D.C, Fox News
Locations:
United States, New York, , Texas, Chicago, Washington, Eagle