Deportations to Venezuela begin once again as migrants continue to stream north.
by Jeff Abbott, The Progressive
President Joe Biden officially renewed deportations to Venezuela for the first time in years, with more than 100 Venezuelans being deported back on a flight chartered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on October 18. The deportations follow high level negotiations between the two countries, which also resulted in the United States decreasing sanctions against the South American country and an opening for free elections.
According to the Biden Administration, the flight is the first of multiple flights per week headed to the South American country. The announcement comes months after the United States renewed deportations to Cuba.
The images of the deportation of Venezuelans with their hands and legs shackled—as if they were criminals—their lack of shoelaces, and the despair on their faces, is repeated daily. Each day, ICE-chartered deportation flights leave airports across the United States to return migrants to dangerous situations across the hemisphere.
According to Tom Cartwright, who tracks deportation flights with Witness At the Border, between 15 to 25 percent of all migrants encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agents are deported. “Deportation is a cornerstone of the United States’ immigration policy,” Cartwright tells The Progressive. “It injects a risk [for migrants] of being sent back to their home country. Without that deterrent, [the U.S.] feels neutered”
Recent Posts
Biden Administration Moves To Reclassify Marijuana: A Major Shift In U.S. Drug Policy
May 17, 2024
Take Action Now President Biden’s Department of Justice takes historic steps to reclassify marijuana, aiming to end a ‘failed approach’ and…
‘Worse Than Iraq’: Three Former Biden Officials Explain Why They Resigned Over War In Gaza
May 16, 2024
Take Action Now “There’s just this blind unwillingness to recognize the U.S. does have all the power here – this notion that it’s not really…
Reflections On Student Activism
May 16, 2024
Take Action Now William Hartung, Democracy Versus Autocracy on America’s Campuses By William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch I’ve spent most of my…
A Whistleblower’s Return To The World.
May 15, 2024
Take Action Now This was to be my first trip abroad in a very long time, certainly the first time since being released from prison. By Jeffrey…