Americas Migration Brief - February 10, 2025
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇴 Colombia
Despite the US foreign aid freeze, Colombia’s Centros Intégrate—one-stop-shops for migrants services—will continue to operate and receive support from Colombia’s Ministry of Equality and Equity. (El Universal)
The freeze does, however, affect other initiatives, including certain attention centers that have assisted with migrant regularization. Colombia’s migration agency is reportedly working on new workarounds. (TalCual, El Espectador)
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic’s president asserted that the country may limit access or start charging Haitian migrants for maternity healthcare services, reports Acento. Many cross the border from Haiti to access services due to the crisis in their home country.
🇧🇷 Brazil
After an internal reallocation of funds, IOM has resumed its participation in Operation Welcome despite previously suspending its activities due to the US foreign aid freeze, reports MigraMundo. (see last week’s AMB)
A bill presented in Brazil’s legislature aims to provide economic support for deportees. (Metrópoles)
🇪🇨 Ecuador
At times, migrants take out loans to embark on their journeys, and some Ecuadorian deportees are saddled with debt upon their return. “The Ecuadorian law firm Defensa Deudores proposes creating special legislation for deported migrants who return with debts,” reports El Universo, explaining their proposal to aid returnees reintegration by “establishing grace periods of at least 24 months so that these people can re-establish themselves in Ecuador and find a job.”
🇨🇦 Canada
“Newcomers to Canada are making up a bigger part of Ottawa's homeless population,” reports CBC.
🇺🇸 United States
MPI released new estimates on demographics and legal status of migrants in the US, finding that “approximately 13.7 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States as of mid-2023, up from 12.8 million the year prior.”
A HIAS report evaluates the integration impact of the organization’s community sponsorship program for displaced Ukranians in the US, as well as in Europe.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
“A boat carrying 17 migrants heading for the United States sank off Nicaragua, leaving at least five people dead, including two children,” reports AFP. The tragedy reveals that the irregular migration route from Colombia’s San Andrés to Nicaragua en route to the US remains active, says La Prensa.
An Inter-American Dialogue report “presents good practices that contribute to the comprehensive development, well-being, and protection of the rights of children and adolescents on the move.”
The Trump administration’s decision to rescind TPS for Venezuelans in the US (see last week’s AMB) and shut down USAID may discourage other countries in the Americas from offering protection and working to integrate Venezuelan migrants, writes María Gabriela Trompetero at Caracas Chronicles.
🇨🇴 Colombia
Colombia’s ombudsman has warned of an increase in Venezuelan arrivals denouncing political persecution in their country of origin. (AP)
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the national authority on international protection, issued Decree 0089 of January 25, 2025, through which it seeks to adopt, by ministerial resolution, a more agile and effective procedure for determining refugee status in the management and decision-making of the high number of applications that Colombia continues to receive each month… it is worth highlighting that the regulation will allow applicants for recognition of refugee status to exercise their right to work in Colombia.” (Cancillería)
A report from R4V and partners highlights the challenge of gender-based violence against migrant women in Colombia.
🇪🇨 Ecuador
CEDA expresses concern that the US foreign aid freeze will leave “internally displaced Ecuadorians and newly arrived Colombian asylum seekers… without critical support,” among other challenges.
“Ecuador lacks a legal framework to protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing violence and economic hardship. The government should designate a lead agency to coordinate IDP response efforts, ensuring that displaced individuals have access to shelter, healthcare, and legal aid,” says CEDA in a separate commentary.
🇺🇸 United States
“President Trump on Friday directed government officials to prioritize the resettlement of South Africans of European descent through the U.S. refugee program, which he suspended during his first day in office,” reports CBS.
Austin Kocher explores the policy on his Substack, discussing the history of apartheid and the context of the move, questioning if white South Africans would even be able to meet the definition of a refugee in the first place.
“The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging President Trump's move to close down the American asylum system, saying it violates legal obligations the U.S. has to offer refuge to migrants fleeing persecution,” reports CBS.
Activists are preparing a lawsuit to block the Trump administration’s move to cancel the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuelans. (EFE; see last week’s AMB)
“Two days after non-profit groups sued the federal government over a stop-work order targeting programmes that provide information and guidance to people facing deportation, the US Justice Department reversed course and ordered that funding to the programmes be restored. The four federally funded programmes educate people in immigration courts and detention centres about their rights and the complicated legal process,” reports AP.
A WOLA and Kino Border Initiative brief breaks down the impacts on the ground at the border thus far from the Trump administration’s immigration moves, noting an effective end of access to asylum at the border.
ProPublica breaks down 27 policies that the Trump administration has resurrected from his first term, as well as 7 new, unprecedented moves.
“ICE official Mellissa Harper has been tapped to lead the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Her hire has concerned experts and advocates that information about children and their families could be shared for arrests and deportations.” (ProPublica)
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, noting that “two military planes have taken less than two dozen detained migrants, apparently people with ties to a Venezuelan organized crime group, to the notorious terrorist detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.”
“A document from the Niskanen Center recalled that the “war on terror” facility at Guantánamo once held 780 detainees, but today only 15 remain. Though they can only guess because much data is classified, the Center estimates that these detentions cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $44 million per inmate per year. “By comparison, the current cost of detention in ICE facilities on the U.S. mainland—estimated to accommodate approximately 41,000 individuals—is roughly $260 per migrant (adjusted for inflation) per day, or about $95,000 annually.”” (via WOLA)
“So far, none of the first arrivals have been taken to an emerging tent city that has been set up for migrants. Instead, they have been housed in the military prison,” reports New York Times.
“Why lawyers worry migrants sent to Guantánamo are in a ‘legal black hole’: The Trump administration has released scant information on the migrants sent to the U.S. detention facility in Cuba. Human rights lawyers are demanding they be allowed access to legal counsel.” (Washington Post)
🇨🇦 Canada
Canadian officials intercepted migrants attempting to enter the country on foot while poorly dressed for frigid weather conditions, which have led to freezing deaths in the past. (The Guardian)
A group of researchers write at The Conversation, “Our work documenting deaths at the Canada-U.S. border shows that irregular crossings have taken the lives of at least 38 people. The actual number of migrant fatalities is likely much higher. We’re concerned that additional border security measures will lead to more danger and death for migrants attempting to cross between the two countries.”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
Mexico and Canada narrowly avoided tariffs from the US last week, reaching deals to enhance border security efforts in exchange for delaying any proposed tariffs for a month. But few of the promised actions are particularly new, per AP. El País breaks down the distribution of the 10,000 armed forces members sent to the US-Mexico border by Mexico, while AP notes that Canada has tacked on a “fentanyl czar” and a terrorism designation for Mexican cartels alongside the pre-existing 1.3 billion dollar border plan highlighted in AMB 1/20/25. (see also Washington Post)
In total, Mexico has received 8,425 Mexican deportees and 2,539 third-country nationals since Trump was inaugurated in the US, reported Reuters on February 7th. This includes some Honduran deportees that Mexico has assisted in their voluntary return to their home country, per CNN.
“Guatemala will accept 40% more deportation flights from the United States, including both Guatemalan deportees and those of other nationalities, President Bernardo Arevalo said after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,” reports Reuters.
“A delegation of Guatemalan officials is slated to visit Washington in the next few weeks to discuss details of the agreement,” notes NBC, adding, “Arevalo insisted that the new agreement was not the same as the “Safe Third Country” agreement, a measure agreed to by the Trump administration and Guatemalan officials in 2019 that allowed third-country nationals to be deported to Guatemala and to apply for asylum there.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed cooperation on migration, among other topics, during his recent visit to Costa Rica, reports Prensa Libre. In the Dominican Republic, meanwhile, Rubio asserted that the US would not call for the country to receive Haitian migration, saying that “no country can tolerate” the magnitude of migration that has accompanied Haiti’s crisis. (Listin Diario, El Nuevo Diario)
El Salvador has offered “to accept deportees from the U.S. of any nationality, including violent American criminals now imprisoned in the United States,” reports AP, highlighting concerns of rights abuses in the Central American country.
El Faro questions capacity to receive and integrate deportees and asylum seekers, including both Salvadorans and third-country nationals. (see also Diario Co Latino)
During Rubio’s visit, the US and El Salvador also signed agreements on coordinated border enforcement efforts, among other issues. (press release)
In Panama, Rubio oversaw a deportation flight from the Darien Gap conducted under the scope of a July 2024 agreement in which the US has thus far funded “41 charter flights to more than 14 countries repatriating 1,666 people” from Panama, according to Bloomberg. Most of these deportation flights by the Panamanian government have been to either Colombia or Ecuador.
Panama has offered to expand the agreement so that the US could use an airstrip in the Darien region to deport immigrants from other countries, reports AFP.
Major Republican party donor and oil magnate Harry Sargeant III reportedly “helped set up the recent meeting between Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and President Donald Trump’s special envoy [Richard Grennell], laying the groundwork for a major deal that would allow the Caracas regime to boost its oil sales to the United States in exchange for accepting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan deportees,” according to Miami Herald. (see last week’s AMB on the deal, as well as Efecto Cocuyo)
“Deportation Flights to Venezuela Will Begin ‘Within the Next 30 Days’” (New York Times)
Venezuela convened a virtual summit of the ALBA bloc to discuss migration; Bolivia criticized US deportations during the summit. (EFE, La Patria)
🇧🇴🇨🇱 Chile and Bolivia
Chile and Bolivia have agreed to “prioritise applications for residency from nationals of the other State, ensuring their resolution within a maximum period of 15 working days,” says InfoMigra, additionally noting efforts focused on “strengthening cooperation and coordination actions against smuggling.”
🇯🇲 Jamaica
As part of Jamaica’s consideration of constitutional reform, the Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament is reviewing all legislation related to immigration, citizenship, and nationality. (Radio Jamaica News)
🇰🇾 Cayman Islands
A white paper by the Cayman government “has outlined a raft of proposed immigration reforms,” reports Radio Jamaica News. Proposals include greater limitations on access to permanent residency.
Labor Migration
🇭🇳 Honduras
A group of Honduran migrants arrived in Spain as part of an 800-beneficiary pilot program for temporary labor migration in the agricultural sector. (La Tribuna)
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
“According to monitoring carried out by the (Colombian) Ombudsman's Office, in 2024 a total of 400,612 migrants were recorded crossing through the Urabá and Darién regions in Colombia” en route to Panama, reports EFE.
This contrasts with the figures presented by the Panamanian government, which registered 302,203 migrants crossing through the Darien Gap to enter Panama.
A Mixed Migration Centre report explores migration trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Borders and Enforcement
🇺🇸 United States
An MPI explainer explores ICE arrests and deportations from the US interior, including the process, constraints, and data.
Despite highly publicized ICE arrests, some recently detained migrants “have already been released back into the United States on a monitoring program,” reports NBC, noting a lack of detention space. “On Tuesday morning, space inside ICE detention facilities was at 109% capacity,” reports CBS.
“ICE represents its enforcement surge as targeting dangerous criminals, but data tells a different story. Why non-criminals will make up the bulk of ICE arrests, detentions, and deportations.” (Austin Kocher on Substack)
“Changes to hiring and retention practices allowed the Biden administration to increase the number of employees at DHS by over 19,000 in four years… But former officials warn that current staffing levels still do not measure up to Trump's ambitious policy goals, as well as increased levels of migration into the U.S.,” reports NPR.
“More active duty troops will head to US-Mexico border, bringing the total to 3,600” (AP)
“Trump's military deportation flights cost more, carry fewer migrants” (El Paso Times)
Washington Post highlights and summarizes efforts by Republican states to adopt restrictive immigration policies.
“Justice Department sues Illinois and Chicago over immigration enforcement: It appears to be the first Justice Department lawsuit against local officials for allegedly interfering with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” (Washington Post)
The Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement efforts have included the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, reports The Virgin Islands Consortium. EFE highlights the impacts in Puerto Rico, where Dominican and Haitian migrants have reportedly gone into hiding.