By: Catherine Grace Polatidis '26
Perhaps, you have heard a TV report or a family member talk about the major influx of immigrants into the US. Maybe, you have seen the buses that are transporting immigrants from Texas into New York’s bright lights yourself. Either way, recently a plentitude of migrants are seeking refuge in New York from Venezuela and the constant waves of migrants is putting a toll on New York financially.
Throughout America’s history, migrants from across the world have fled their homes for the land of the free, especially for New York, which is also nicknamed “the melting pot.” Although it has always been an issue to accommodate so many migrants into America, cities like New York and Chicago welcome immigrants with open arms as it is a part of their policy to provide safety and inclusion to everyone under their “Right to Shelter” mandate. However, recently approximately 110,000 Venezuelan migrants have found their way to New York, whether intentionally or not.
It began in 1998 when Hugo Chávez was elected president of Venezuela. His campaign promised to aid the poor with programs focused on health care, food subsidies, improved education and scholarships. Venezuela relied heavily on imports of food and other necessities like toothpaste, rice and soap that they obtained from foreign countries. Venezuela also has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and most of their income comes from their petroleum exports. In 2004, when oil prices increased dramatically up to
100 dollars a barrel, he created these programs that were funded by the absurd oil profit from which Venezuela benefited. The majority of Venezuela revered him for these actions and in order to be re-elected, he continued funding these programs using Venezuela’s oil industry. These programs and Venezuela as a whole relied heavily on the oil industry's success. When it brutally crashed in 2014, only one year after Nicolás Maduro was elected, havoc was wreaked upon Venezuela.
Poverty, shortage of products, crime and murder all spiked, leaving Venezuelans in constant fear and agony. President Maduro did nothing to address these issues, and eventually Venezuela's GDP (gross domestic product) decreased by 40 percent as their inflation rate increased 17.3 percent. Venezuela's total stock of foreign debt is approximately 150 billion dollars and around 7.3 million Venezuelans have fled for a better life.
These immigrants had to pass through forests with deadly animals, ride on top of trains while dodging drug gangs and police all in order to make it to America. However, growing tired of the situation, Texas’s governor Greg Abbott began to send 1000 Venezuelan immigrants a day to cities like L.A, New York and Chicago. New York has experienced the highest influx of immigrants at around 110,000 so far, a number that continues to increase each day. The situation has grown so out of control that migrants are taking sanctuary in hotel buildings.
The city has paid billions to rent out these hotels, along with sending migrants to Randall’s Island and upstate New York. In total, New York plans to spend 12 billion on this rising dilemma and is seeking help from the federal government to pay the costly bill. One of the main reasons this situation is so pricey is because immigrants cannot work until 150 days after they submit their asylum documents. This means that the city is providing many months of food, shelter and necessities for the migrant community.
As Venezuelans flee their homeland for a better life, they continue to find hope and safety in New York’s welcoming arms, creating communities and possibilities for striving future generations.
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Edited by: Katarina Radulovic '24 and Ms. Brilliant
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