Americas Migration Brief - September 22, 2025
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇵🇪 Peru
Peru has begun its regularization process for the around 480,000 primarily Venezuelan migrants in the country who previously held a regular status that has since expired. Migrants who have not previously held a regular status, which includes all those that have entered the country irregularly since 2023, do not have access to the program. (EFE; see AMB 8/25/25)
🇪🇨 Ecuador
A new study by IOM and Equilibrium finds that “Households with Venezuelan members contribute an estimated USD 900 million annually to Ecuador’s economy through the consumption of goods and services… The study also estimates that Venezuelan households pay nearly USD 47 million in taxes annually,” per IOM.
The abrupt ending earlier this year of the Virte II regularization program for Venezuelan migrants “marks a significant setback in Ecuador's immigration policy toward Venezuelans,” reports Primicias, reviewing the opportunities of migration and the increasingly securitized approach of Ecuador’s Noboa government.
🇬🇹 Guatemala
Efforts to reintegrate returnees in Guatemala are focused on adult migrants and do not adequately consider the differentiated experiences and needs of migrant children returned from the United States, reports Prensa Libre.
🇨🇦 Canada
“With Canada already losing one in five immigrants to onward migration, a new study finds that optimism and a sense of belonging weigh heaviest on the decision to stay, and that the ‘onus of integration’ is a two-way street,” highlights The Hill Times.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
“The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the undersigned special procedures mandate holders*, and the experts from the Platform of Independent Experts on the Rights of Refugees (PIERR)** express concern regarding the recent adoption of certain bilateral agreements between countries with the objective of deporting, expelling, and/or transferring persons in the context of human mobility to other countries that are neither their country of origin nor their habitual residence; and which may be contrary to non-derogable international human rights obligations.” (press release)
🇦🇷 Argentina
Argentina’s new regulations for the country’s refugee law (see last week’s AMB) came as a surprise for some advocates, who criticized the lack of consultation with civil society and experts during the formulation of the regulations and that the new regulations allow for the rapid denial of asylum claims, reports Chequeado.
🇨🇱 Chile
Chile has moved to accept 68 Palestinian refugees, including 36 children. (MercoPress)
🇲🇽 Mexico
“A year ago, 23 migrants disappeared off the coast of Chiapas, guided toward the U.S. by coyotes. Their families received word that they had been kidnapped, but haven’t gotten a reaction from Mexico’s government. The case is just one in a series of mass disappearances afflicting migrants traveling through Mexico, reports El País.” (via Latin America Daily Briefing)
🇺🇸 United States
The Trump administration is turning to the Supreme Court to try to override a lower court ruling blocking the stripping of TPS protections for more than 300,000 Venezuelans. (New York Times)
The Trump administration is set to end TPS for about 6,000 Syrian beneficiaries, reports the New York Times, noting that attempts to end other TPS programs—such as that of Venezuelans above—have faced legal challenges.
Since the Trump administration rescinded in January a policy that shielded many victims of crime from detention and removal, a growing number of migrants that have been victimized are facing deportation, highlights AP, explaining, “Critics say the outcome is not only cruel to victims and their families but is harming public safety by making those who are in the U.S. illegally unlikely to report crimes and cooperate with police.”
“In a challenging look at the abuses some migrant workers endure, Max Blau and Zaydee Sanchez of ProPublica report on the trafficking of a woman who was trying to get an H-2A agricultural visa and work for a future for her young son.” (via The Forum Daily)
“Inspectors recently found conditions in the Fort Bliss immigrant detention center near El Paso, Texas, that violate at least 60 federal standards, a team at The Washington Post reports. The detention center was built and opened within less than two months. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspectors this month found problems with medical care and access to lawyers, among other concerns, according to a copy of the report the Post obtained.” (via The Forum Daily)
At least 19 immigrants have died in ICE custody so far during the Trump administration, reports Pirate Wire Services.
Federal judges continue to block the Trump administration from deporting unaccompanied minor migrants from Guatemala, reports The New York Times. (see last week’s AMB)
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, noting, “Several stories over the past week detailed how military personnel, and civilian personnel normally assigned to missions ranging from stopping drugs to stopping child sex slavery, have been pulled from their regular duties to assist the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort.”
🇨🇦 Canada
“Canadian officials have received more than 5,500 asylum claims since the beginning of July at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing, south of Montreal. That’s a 263% increase from the same period last year,” reports Bloomberg.
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
“Four Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States—Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—are on track to implement full Free Movement among themselves from 1 October this year. By implementing the full free movement regime, these four countries have agreed to grant their nationals the right to enter, leave and re-enter, move freely, reside, work and remain indefinitely in the receiving Member State, without the need for a work or residency permit. Their nationals will also be able to access emergency and primary health care, and public primary and secondary education, within the means of the receiving Member State.” (press release; see also AMB 7/14/25 and 7/21/25)
Barbados’ “trade union umbrella group is pressing for a binding regional protocol to protect the rights of migrant workers, warning that without enforceable standards, they could face wage suppression and exploitation,” reports Barbados Today.
A new IOM initiative spanning 13 countries across the Caribbean aims at “incorporating displacement and mobility considerations into CARICOM’s disaster management mechanisms, improving evidence-based planning for displacement risk reduction, enhancing coordination and capacity building within emergency shelter and non-food item sectors, and ensuring vulnerable displaced populations receive critical humanitarian aid during emergencies.” (Dominica News Online)
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
“Ghana says it's awaiting another 40 West African migrants deported by the U.S.” (EFE; see last week’s AMB)
🇨🇦🇲🇽 Mexico and Canada
The leaders of Mexico and Canada “discussed expanding a visa program for Mexican workers, reports Animal Político,” notes Jordana Timerman at the Latin America Daily Briefing.
🇻🇪🇵🇦 Panama and Venezuela
Panama has confirmed the restoration of consular relations with Venezuela in order to facilitate the return of Venezuelan migrants from the Central American country. (EFE)
🇭🇳🇨🇱 Chile and Honduras
Honduran and Chilean officials met to discuss migration. (Canal 8)
Labor Migration
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Creating opportunities for labor migration to Spain, “the Dominican Republic will be part of the circular labor migration pilot plan developed under the Global Skills Partnerships (GSP) model, an innovative mechanism promoted by the World Bank that links skills development at the country of origin with job opportunities at the destination,” reports El Día.
🇸🇻🇨🇷 Costa Rica and El Salvador
“A group of 15 Salvadorans will depart for Costa Rica this Tuesday as part of the labor migration program between the two countries. They will work in the transportation sector,” reports El Mundo, noting that this is the first pilot since signing off on a bilateral labor migration program in December 2023.
🇺🇸 United States
“President Trump on Friday said that the federal government would begin adding a $100,000-a-year fee for visas given to skilled foreign workers, a significant overhaul of how the United States distributes what are known as H-1B visas,” reports The New York Times, noting that the fee would only apply for new H-1B applicants.
“He also signed an executive order creating an expedited visa program he called the “gold card,” an idea he previewed in February. The card will cost $1 million, or $2 million if a corporation is sponsoring someone seeking it, White House officials said.”
“Under U.S. immigration law, international medical graduates (IMGs) who train in the United States are generally required to return to their home country for two years before they can apply to reenter. The Conrad 30 Visa Waiver program provides an exception for physicians who meet specific criteria and commit to practicing for at least three years in rural or medically underserved areas… Recent Niskanen Center polling highlights both the program’s obscurity and its broad appeal. Most voters reported knowing little or nothing about Conrad 30. Yet, once informed, strong bipartisan support emerged for expanding it.” (Niskanen)
Borders and Enforcement
🇨🇦 Canada
“In a major victory for migrant and refugee rights, on September 14, Ontario became the last province in Canada to block the Canada Border Services Agency from using provincial jails to incarcerate migrants and asylum seekers on administrative grounds,” says Human Rights Watch, calling for the federal government to “urgently follow the provinces’ lead. It should work toward abolishing immigration detention, halt the expansion into federal prisons, and scale up humane, community-based alternatives.”
🇺🇸 United States
California passed a “first-in-the-nation law barring law-enforcement officers — including federal immigration agents — from concealing their faces while on duty, a direct response to masked ICE arrests during mass raids in the Los Angeles region,” reports Migrant Insider.
“U.S. law enforcement officials have claimed that the use of certain emojis — including trains, swords, ninjas, aliens, and strawberries — could signal affiliation with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang the Trump administration has categorized as a terrorist organization, according to internal records reviewed by the Guardian. Gang experts and immigration attorneys who reviewed the records said the claims were “ludicrous”, “uneducated” and “baseless” and raised concerns that authorities could cite emojis to erroneously label people as Tren de Aragua members – allegations that can have dire consequences, including deportation.” (via Latin America Daily Briefing)
Austin Kocher has launched “a new Immigration Enforcement Dashboard that makes the Deportation Data Project’s data accessible through interactive data visualizations and simple documentation.”