What do the progressives like to say? “That” [insert every historical example of a socialist or communist regime] wasn’t “real” socialism or communism.

According to a report out at Bloomberg News a few days ago, the month of September saw a massive surge in the number of migrants headed north through the Darién Gap and bound for the welfare state of the U.S., in large part due to what Bloomberg calls a “renewed exodus” from Venezuela, specifically.

However, these migrants aren’t leaving their home because it’s a desolate landscape but because the nation is dying under the socialism they all voted in, first under Hugo Chávez, then under Nicolás Maduro:

The number of migrants coming through the Darien Gap increased by 51% in September as more Venezuelans crossed the treacherous jungle following Nicolas Maduro’s disputed reelection.

Repression in the wake of Venezuela’s July election has led to an increase in out-migration, according to a report by Refugees International published on Friday. Data show that 25,111 migrants crossed last month, with more than 80% of them from Venezuela, followed by Colombia, Ecuador and China.

Needless to say, I’m not a fan of the “amnesty” or “pathway to citizenship” schemes because clearly, these people cannot be trusted with a vote. I myself don’t believe voting is a “right” possessed by the simple virtue of having a pulse; it should be relatively exclusive, voters should have a personal stake in the welfare of the nation, and it should not be a process in which any idiot or corpse can participate—did anyone see Jimmy Carter “making it” to early voting day in Georgia? I seriously doubt he’s actually even alive:

The Kamala campaign is planning to harvest Jimmy Carter’s ballot today at the hospice facility where he’s being kept.

Someone in Carter’s physical and mental state is unable to vote. He’s non-verbal, can’t move, and isn’t even aware he’s alive.

This is criminal and disgusting. pic.twitter.com/ROw34YZNRD

— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) October 15, 2024

Anyway, back to Bloomberg:

Since 2015, almost 8 million have fled Venezuela in what is considered the largest mass migration in the Americas. As they’ve dispersed around the continent, backlash has grown amid perceptions that their arrival is often accompanied by an increase in crime.

A fresh Venezuelan exodus risks roiling politics in the US, which is home to more than 500,000 migrants from the country already, according to data from the United Nations. A Gallup poll last month showed immigration picked back up as an issue highlighted by voters as important in September after fading in the summer, but it was still short of highs seen early in the year.

Perceptions that crime is rising? It is—see Monica Showalter’s new essay out today on that very topic.

Notorious Venezuelan gangs taking control of apartment buildings and hotel complexes to operate illicit brothels and run drugs? Seems pretty INSANE to me, but as Martha Raddatz argued, it’s “only a handful” of American properties seized by foreign criminal cartels selling children for sex with near-total impunity. Gee, I feel so much better. (As Trump says, there are the “enemies from within,” both the gang-banging illegals and the media operatives diminishing their crimes.)

The fact that without fail, people run away from communism and socialism, when actually living under it and given the opportunity—you never see people rowing dinghies toward Cuba and Castro, or Americans embarking on perilous foot-journeys south to reach Venezuela and Maduro—should be a great indicator as to whether or not these political systems are good for the average person, but alas, we’re dealing with progressive Democrat voters, and no one would ever accuse them of having an ounce of sense or awareness.

Yes, the same Democrat voters pushing for a Kamala Harris installation and the same Democrats who when faced with irrefutable evidence of cheating and rigging, will return fire with willful ignorance and intentional blindness.

Image: DonkeyHotey, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.