Americas Migration Brief - July 13, 2026
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇴 Colombia
Following the devastating dual earthquakes last month in Venezuela (see last week’s AMB and below), Ronal Rodríguez writes at El Espectador that Colombia should renew its focus on regularization and welcoming Venezuelan migrants: “Venezuelans building their lives in Colombia now want to bring their elderly relatives—parents and grandparents—who remained in Venezuela because that’s where they owned property. However, the complex situation in their neighboring country is forcing family reunification on this side of the border. Colombia will once again face migration flows from Venezuela, albeit in smaller numbers, but with new demands.”
Sandra Borda notes on Twitter that president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella’s incoming foreign minister has retweeted a post describing migrants as “invaders” and migration as “invasion.” (relatedly, see AMB 6/29/26 about questions over the incoming administration’s approach)
🇬🇹 Guatemala
“Guatemala has taken a significant step toward strengthening the labor inclusion of refugees, asylum-seekers, and other foreign nationals through the modernization of the Platform for Work Permits for Foreign Nationals (PEX), a tool developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MINTRAB) with technical support from the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and funding from the Government of Spain. The new version of the platform modernizes and streamlines the application process for special work permits, allowing procedures to be completed more quickly, easily, and accessible, including from mobile devices.” (press release)
🇺🇸 United States
“The Trump administration deleted the requirement that the government process asylum seekers’ initial work permits within 30 days, allowing immigrants to legally work for U.S. employers while their asylum applications are pending,” reports Politico, noting a pending lawsuit.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎Regional
As Haiti struggles with 1.5 million internally displaced amid rampant violence and insecurity, the country struggles to respond to nationals deported from neighboring Caribbean countries or the US: “Many have been unable to return to their homes: Roads are blocked, or their neighborhoods have been overrun by armed groups or destroyed. Some have been kidnapped or killed.” (Washington Post)
🇻🇪 Venezuela
“Hundreds of people displaced by Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes are sharing extremely limited toilets in informal camps, while others are risking returning to damaged homes to use bathrooms despite fears the buildings could collapse… Thousands of people sheltering in tents for the past 12 days are without regular access to safe drinking water, running water and toilets, putting them at risk of skin infections, diarrhea and gastrointestinal illnesses, with children particularly vulnerable. Women and girls are having to manage their periods without privacy, clean water and sanitary products,” warns Save the Children. (see last week’s AMB)
“The Venezuelan government says that 17,907 people were left homeless after the earthquakes and that 16,891 are in 87 camps,” notes EFE.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Brazil has established a National Humanitarian Reception Program through Community Sponsorship, formalizing previous practices for reception of those on humanitarian visas. “By the end of 2025, five civil society organizations had been accredited by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) to participate in the initiative. Together, they provided approximately 1,320 places for program beneficiaries. Of this total, 402 people had already arrived in Brazil and been welcomed in more than 30 municipalities across eight states,” per a press release available at Noticia In Foco. (see AMB 1/19/26)
Among migrant women in Brazil, “most maternal deaths were caused by hypertensive obstetric diseases among pregnant women, which are generally related to difficulties in accessing or receiving prenatal care. Furthermore, researchers pointed out that the prevalence of maternal deaths among Haitian and Venezuelan migrants is also due to difficulties arising from forced displacement induced by conflicts in their countries of origin, which cause disruptions in access to health services and psychological stress that affect the health of pregnant and postpartum women,” reports MigraMundo.
🇭🇳 Honduras
“While Honduras has quintupled the number of people in need of protection abroad in the last ten years, asylum applications from foreigners in the Central American country have quadrupled in the last year,” reaching 716 new asylum applications in 2025, reports Proceso.
🇺🇸 United States
“The killing of a Mexican man living in the United States by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic stop in Houston has become the latest fatal encounter as the Trump administration continues its mass deportation campaign,” reports New York Times, noting that—as in other cases—“witnesses have disputed the authorities’ account.” (see also Migrant Insider)
Multiple witnesses were subsequently detained by ICE and “are under pressure from immigration officials to agree to self-deport,” reports TNR.
The City of Houston “said they would begin their own investigation of the federal government’s actions,” per New York Times.
“Mexico is seeking a criminal investigation in the United States related to the deaths of 17 Mexicans in immigration operations during President Donald Trump’s second term,” reports CNN, noting, “14 were in ICE custody and three died in operations carried out by the agency.”
“The Trump administration has gutted policies that gave immigrant minors access to legal counsel and relief from deportation while they applied to stay in the U.S… Immigration courts have issued more than 10,000 removal and voluntary departure orders each month for immigrant minors — nearly four times the rate as Trump’s last term,” reports ProPublica.
Meanwhile, “The Trump administration plans to open a 528-bed holding facility for migrant families and unaccompanied children next to an airport hub, positioning itself to speed up deportations,” notes AP.
“Among children whose removal cases have been completed, 7 percent of those with a lawyer obtained some form of legal relief that let them stay in the country. Among children without a lawyer, it was less than 1 percent. That’s not a modest disparity. It’s close to the difference between a system that occasionally works for the people caught inside it and one that functionally doesn’t, and the entire gap comes down to whether a child, often a very young one, facing a trained government attorney completely alone, happened to have someone in the room who knew how to make their case,” notes Austin Kocher at his Substack, citing The Independent.
“A lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges that the Trump administration’s immigration agencies have been sharing confidential information about Iranian asylum seekers with the Iranian government, violating national immigration regulations and endangering countless Iranians,” reports AP.
“Midway through the year, with over 30 state legislatures adjourned, emerging trends show how some states are taking up policies to protect immigrant communities. Having seen nearly 18 months of the second Trump administration’s immigration agenda, many state lawmakers have responded by passing innovative policies that build upon a foundation of best practices, such as addressing data privacy and protection, expanding access to immigration legal services, and placing guardrails on collaboration with federal immigration enforcement.” (American Immigration Council)
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
“Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley says her country has had a positive experience as one of the first four CARICOM member states to start full free movement last October. She revealed that Grenada has now officially said it wants to join, and Saint Lucia has also shown interest,” reports St. Lucia Times. (see last week’s AMB)
The European Union wrote to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia; asking that the five Caribbean countries phase out their Citizenship by Investment Programs. “Brussels grounded its demand in the EU’s revised visa suspension mechanism, which entered into force on December 30, 2025,” reports IMI.
The five Caribbean countries met, submitting a joint response to the EU that calls for alternative sources of economic revenue if CBI were to end and “contests the terms of a transition, not the premise of one,” per IMI.
The Dominican Republic hosted the International Dialogue on Social Policies, Resilience and Social Cohesion in Contexts of Vulnerability and Return Migration, organized by SICA. (El Nuevo Diario)
A paper at International Migration introduces a dataset on free movement regimes globally, with a particular focus on analyzing such regimes in Latin America and the Caribbean.
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
The US deported a third country national to Palau, the first such flight to the Pacific archipelago. The country “agreed in December to resettle up to 75 deportees in exchange for $7.5 million,” per France24. Although the third country deportees are meant to settle in Palau, this individual reportedly chose not to remain after just two weeks.
AFP highlights the coercive and quid pro quo-based efforts of the Trump administration to arrange third country deportation deals with African countries.
“More than 500 Jamaicans protested a deal between their government and Washington that makes the island a way station for U.S. deportees bound elsewhere. The demonstration reflects growing unease over Jamaica’s addition to the expanding network of countries that have agreed to facilitate a signature Trump administration immigration policy: third-country deportations, reports the Washington Post.” (via Latin America Daily Briefing)
🇻🇪🇪🇨 Ecuador and Venezuela
Ecuador will resume consular services in Venezuela, to be provided at the Swiss embassy. “The consular office will also offer renewal of identity documents, civil registrations, and assistance to Ecuadorian citizens affected by the earthquakes, despite the break in diplomatic relations between the two countries since 2024,” reports El Pitazo.
🇲🇽🇵🇪 Peru and Mexico
Mexico and Peru are set to restart diplomatic relations after controversy over political asylum last year, I note at the Latin America Daily Briefing. (see AMB 11/10/25)
🇨🇱🇵🇪 Peru and Chile
Chilean president José Antonio Kast met virtually with Peruvian president-elect Keiko Fujimori, discussing migration, among other issues. (Diario UChile)
🇵🇭🇨🇦 Canada and Philippines
Canada and the Philippines have signed a joint declaration of intent “ensuring fair and safer recruitment regulation for overseas Filipino workers,” including “ethical recruitment and licensing processes, as well as the establishment of a mutual recognition of worker credentials of migrant workers.” Canadian provinces have signed cooperation agreements with Asian countries in the past, but this is the first federal-level agreement, per Inquirer.
🇦🇼 Aruba
An Aruba labor union leader has called on the government to develop an “Integrated Migration Plan” that regulates and plans not just for migrant admission but also integration. (EA News)
🇨🇴 Colombia
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “presented the Strategic Guidelines for Migration Governance 2026–2036, a roadmap built through a broad participatory process with civil society organizations, migrants, Colombians abroad, returning population, international organizations and academia, which will guide the country’s migration policy during the next decade.” (press release)
Borders and Enforcement
🇨🇱 Chile
The Kast government has now deported 1,174 migrants across 7 flights, reports La Tercera. This reaches 92% of the total number of deportations last year and exceeds those conducted yearly between 2022-2024.
🇺🇸 United States
“The Department of Homeland Security has purchased two privately-run detention facilities from the for-profit prison company CoreCivic, the company announced Monday, in a move that may serve to shield the facilities from state oversight… California law requires that privately held detention centers be subject to oversight by local and state authorities, as well as members of Congress. Now that DHS owns the buildings, finding out what’s going on inside of them is likely to become harder,” explains Mother Jones, noting that CoreCivic is still set to generate income from the immigration detention centers.
“DHS has proposed nearly quintupling the fee for Form I-246, the application people under final removal orders file to request a stay of deportation — from $155 to $755, a 387% jump,” reports Migrant Insider.
More on Migration
🌎 Regional
A new open access issue of Migraciones journal includes several papers related to Latin America.