In 2017 I developed a mild seizure disorder that is easily controlled with the right medication, at the right dosage. But for neurologists, finding the right prescription can involve some trial and error. The medications have some side effects, so doctors don’t want to overprescribe. After being seizure free for six years, my neurologist reduced my medication dosage by 50%. The result was that in September, 2023, I experienced a partial complex seizure (formerly known as petit mal or absence seizures). This is a topic for a separate post, but when my neurologist put me back on my previous dose he asked me to refrain from driving for three months to make sure that the seizures were once again under control. While waiting out these three months I entertained myself by spending hours walking through the neighborhoods of northwest Denver.
My period of long walks coincided with an influx of Venezuelan refugees into Denver. These people were escaping economic crises, political turmoil, and social unrest in Venezuela, and were hoping to rebuild their lives. Denver had established a shelter near North High School, about a mile from my house. In spite of the shelter having been established by Mayor Mike Johnston and the City Council, many refugees were forced to live on the streets in encampments, enduring the coldest weather they had ever experienced, awaiting work permits so they could establish new lives in what they assumed to be a free and welcoming United States – a free and welcoming United States where new opportunities would exist. In September, October, and November of 2023 I encountered many of these people during my walks, and with my very limited Spanish I sometimes tried to strike up conversations with them. Often these were young men out on the streets who asked if I had any work for them. They were willing to do landscaping, construction, household repairs, auto repairs, housekeeping, or any other type of legitimate work to earn enough to feed themselves. I came across many young women with children, too. Their situations were heartbreaking.
Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters are portraying Venezuelan immigrants as criminals, when the truth is the vast majority of them are here to flee the conditions resulting from the regime of Nicolás Maduro, a dictator who was voted out of office recently but refused to relinquish power. There are many parallels between Maduro and Trump. We have to keep in mind why refugees from Central and South America come here to being with. The vast majority of them are seeking opportunities to work, support themselves and their families, and contribute to the American economy if they are given the chance. Trump has promised to deport them if he is elected, but we have to remember that they have no place to go if they are sent back to their countries of origin.
Many observers argue, though it is disputed by others, that Trump’s economic sanctions against Venezuela, imposed against the advice of the United Nations, have contributed to Venezuela’s economic crisis, while increasing disease and mortality in the country. Whether or not Trump shares some of the blame for conditions in Venezuela, it is clear that refugees in the United States would have no place in their home country if they were deported. And it is not likely that they would be welcomed in Mexico or any other country south of our border either. The United States, being the richest economy in the world, is probably the only country in the Western Hemisphere that can afford to shelter and assist these unfortunate humans. Yet Trump and his MAGA supporters continue to malign and disparage these people and portray them as criminals.
We can’t be sure what motivated Trump and other world leaders to impose sanctions on Venezuela, and to be sure Trump is not the only American politician to support sanctions in one form or another. But was the intention of these sanctions to create better living conditions for the Venezuelan people, or was it politically motivated to further facilitate the collapse of a country that, under Socialist leadership and vast petroleum reserves, had once prospered? As an aside, despite his publicly condemning Maduro, Trump must admire Maduro for his success in holding on to power despite having been voted out of office by a large majority. Regardless, the sanctions have contributed to the collapse of Venezuela’s economic and social structure, and have led to the influx of immigrants into our country.
Rather than punishing countries like Venezuela and then disingenuously vilifying the victims of that punishment who have fled to the United States, shouldn’t we devise strategies to help those countries prosper so that their citizens wouldn’t have to emigrate in the first place? Surely the wealthiest nation in the world is in a position to do this, while at the same time helping make the lives of refugees here less painful. I am reminded of the opening words from Lincoln in his Gettysburg address. Although we have yet to live up to our founding fathers’ words, Lincoln reminded us that the United States was “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men [shouldn’t this mean women and peoples of other countries, too?] are created equal.” I hope we have not given up on striving to make this vision a reality.