Americas Migration Brief - April 28, 2025
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Costa Rica is granting legal status and mobility for three months to 85 migrants deported by the US that had been trapped in the Catem shelter along the border with Panama since February. The status does not grant a work permit, but does allow the migrants to seek asylum in Costa Rica if they wish, which would grant a pathway to employment. (New York Times, AP, resolution on pg. 76)
Costa Rica is reportedly “also working with other countries, including Canada, to see if they would accept some of the migrants.” (New York Times)
“The Costa Rican government has no plans to reinstate the Temporary Special Category that it offered in previous years to migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela” to facilitate their regularization, reports Confidencial.
🇬🇹 Guatemala
With a focus on promoting reintegration of returned migrants, IOM has launched a new fund for small and medium-sized enterprises that “will benefit 15 companies with non-reimbursable grants of up to USD 20,000 each, earmarked for capital investments to drive the expansion of their operations. These investments are expected to generate at least 60 new jobs in high-growth sectors in less than a year, with an emphasis on hiring returned migrants or those at risk of irregular migration.” (see last week’s AMB on the importance of reintegration efforts)
🇨🇱 Chile
Chile’s new National Children's Policy 2024-2032 includes “all children regardless of their nationality or immigration status,” reports InfoMigra.
Chile’s Demócratas party wants to restrict access to citizenship and family reunification, reports 2001online.
A Centro de Políticas Migratorias report outlines how to develop productive local-level policy to facilitate migrant integration.
🇺🇾 Uruguay
Uruguay has extended its regularization program for those with rejected asylum cases that entered the country by May 2024. (see AMB 3/3/25)
🇲🇽 Mexico
The New York Times highlights Mexico City as a “beacon,” offering opportunity and new lives to migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and beyond—even the United States, although US migration has prompted concerns of gentrification and displacement of locals.
🇨🇴 Colombia
El País highlights how the slashing of US foreign aid is impacting La Pista, an informal settlement of over 9,000 migrants and returnees in Colombia.
🇨🇦 Canada
“Migrants living in Canada are facing longer waits to renew paperwork that would allow them to keep working legally, as growing backlogs and changing rules stymie efforts to maintain legal status,” reports Reuters.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
“The United States carried out mass expulsions of third-country nationals to Panama between February 12 and 15, 2025, denying them due process and the right to seek asylum,” says Human Rights Watch in a new report. (press release)
“Panama should cease accepting third-country nationals from the United States. If transfers are resumed, they should only occur under a formal agreement that ensures strict adherence to due process and international law, including access to full and fair asylum procedures and respect for the principle of nonrefoulement. Panama needs to guarantee that those it has already agreed to accept can access full and fair asylum procedures.” (HRW)
“Those Who Fled Torture, Persecution Treated “As Less Than Animals” by U.S. Officials Before Expulsion to Panama” (Physicians for Human Rights)
A report by NRC, DRC, and partners explores protection needs across Latin America, finding that “One in four families interviewed for the report said that their lives would be at risk if they returned to their place of origin.” (press release)
🇨🇴 Colombia
Efforts to protect and integrate the millions of displaced persons in Colombia are threatened: “as funding dries up, UNHCR is being forced to suspend essential services, threatening to undo years of progress and leaving the most vulnerable without the support they desperately need,” says UNHCR.
“The consequences of the funding gap are being acutely felt in the conflict-ridden Catatumbo region along Colombia’s border with Venezuela. Recent clashes between non-State armed groups have forcibly displaced over 63,000 people in what is now the largest incident of mass displacement ever registered in Colombia’s history. Despite its humanitarian coordination role in the area, UNHCR has had to halt the distribution of basic relief items such as mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and mosquito nets even though violence continues.” (UNHCR)
“The most recent bulletin from the Defensoria reports 64,397 people displaced, and 104 killed by fighting in the region between the ELN and FARC-dissident group Frente 33. In the same report, authorities state that the number of deaths is likely dramatically under-reported”—Pirate Wires Services reports on the situation in and around Catatumbo.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Brazil is facilitating quick access to refugee status for women coming from countries with a high prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM), granting prima facie status and thus avoiding the time-consuming and potentially trauma-inducing interview stage of the application process. (Folha)
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“Organizations denounce military repression and tightening of immigration policies in Dominican communities” (Acento)
One Haitian migrant who has legal status in the country reports “being detained multiple times” and “stopped on several occasions” by officials. (CDN)
🇲🇽 Mexico
“Cubans and Haitians lead asylum applications in Comar Tapachula” (Diario del Sur)
🇺🇸 United States
“President Trump asserted on Tuesday that undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to trials, insisting that his administration should be able to deport them without appearing before a judge,” thus bypassing constitutional due process rights. (New York Times)
“A Venezuelan immigrant, Ricardo Prada has disappeared after being deported by the U.S. to an unknown destination. He was last heard from in U.S. detention on March 15 and is not on the list of people deported to El Salvador that day. His “disappearance has created concerns that more immigrants have been deported to El Salvador than previously known. It also raises the question of whether some deportees may have been sent to other countries with no record of it,” reports the New York Times.” (via Latin America Daily Briefing)
On a similar note, The New Yorker highlights “The Mystery of ICE’s Unidentifiable Arrests”
“A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return a Venezuelan man to the United States after he was sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, the second time the courts have demanded the government bring back a migrant who had protection from deportation but was sent to a megaprison instead,” reports Washington Post.
“The Trump administration is acknowledging it deported four noncitizens to El Salvador despite a court order barring the removal of people to countries other than their place of origin without an opportunity to raise concerns about their safety,” reports ABC.
Gothamist highlights the plight of children in immigration court, such as one 4-year old girl stuck in front of a judge with no lawyer or parent present.
“Immigrants forced to sleep on floors at overwhelmed ICE detention centers: Conditions are deteriorating as many detention centers approach capacity and the Trump administration closes two agencies overseeing health and safety at the facilities.” (Washington Post)
“F.B.I. agents arrested a county judge in Milwaukee on Friday on charges of obstructing immigration agents by steering an undocumented immigrant through a side door in her courtroom while the agents waited in a public hallway to apprehend him.” Some say the arrest violates the independence of the judiciary, which the Trump administration has repeatedly attacked, reports New York Times.
“The Miami Herald reports that the Trump administration plans to designate Haiti’s gangs as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), similar to its designation of Mexico’s top cartels, MS-13, and Tren de Aragua. The goal of the designation is less about a security strategy for Haiti and more about creating a justification to deport Haitians to El Salvador,” explains James Bosworth at Latin America Risk Report, adding, “other governments including the Abinader administration in the Dominican Republic may see the FTO designation as a green light to be more aggressive in its policy towards Haiti.”
“The wife of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, was forced to move to a safe house with her children, after the government posted their home address to social media,” reports The New Republic.
Niskanen Center reviews the success of Welcome Corps, a private sponsorship program for refugee resettlement established by the Biden administration (and now hamstrung).
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, noting, “courts, including the Supreme Court, continue to block the Trump administration’s invocations of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel Venezuelan migrants to a mega-prison in El Salvador.”
And yet: “Newly uncovered guidance from the Justice Department claims the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) allows federal law enforcement officers to enter the houses of suspected gang members without a warrant and remove them from the country without any judicial review.” (Reason)
🇨🇦 Canada
“As thousands of Haitians seek asylum at Canada’s southern border amid fear of deportation by the Trump administration, Montréal’s Haitian community is mobilizing to provide support,” says The Haitian Times.
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
An IOM report explores migration-related policy adoption in relation to plans established by the South American Conference on Migration (CSM).
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
The Trump administration deported an Iraqi refugee to Rwanda in exchange for cash and other concessions, reports The Handbasket, noting that at least 10 more non-Rwandans may be deported to the country in the coming days.
“The UN Committee on Migrant Workers expressed concern Thursday about the "lack of clarity and transparency" regarding possible formal or informal agreements between Mexico and the United States on migration,” reports EFE, adding, “The report expresses concern about the systematic return of third-country nationals to Mexico, as well as reports of air expulsions carried out by U.S. authorities to the state of Chiapas, which are tolerated by Mexican authorities.”
“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced that she will send a reform initiative to Congress to prohibit the dissemination of foreign advertising in Mexico through mass media. The decision comes after the controversy over the broadcast of anti-immigration ads by the United States government in Mexico,” and reflects a previously established law that was revoked under the Peña Nieto presidency, reports El País. Conapred, the country’s anti-discrimination council, has “invited” stations to pull the commercials.
🇧🇴🇵🇪 Peru and Bolivia
“With the aim of establishing mechanisms to promote the exchange of migration information and encourage the signing of the 2025-2026 biennial roadmap to effectively combat human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants in border areas, Peru and Bolivia held the Third Meeting of the Consular and Migration Consultation Mechanism.” (press release)
The two countries additionally agreed “to begin negotiations to sign a mutual cooperation agreement on health matters, which would allow for emergency medical assistance in the event of accidents involving Bolivian nationals in Peru and Peruvians in Bolivia, regardless of their immigration status.”
🇩🇪🇨🇴 Colombia and Germany
Colombia and Germany have signed a migration cooperation agreement, including a commitment “to work more closely together in the future to further promote circular migration for training, study, and employment purposes, as well as to curb irregular migration,” per El Tiempo.
Previously threatened visa restrictions for Colombian travelers have been avoided due to a drop in asylum applications, but there are still currently more than 1,600 Colombians in Germany with an irregular status, reports Infobae. The German government is asserting that they must “leave voluntarily” or they will receive a multi-year entry ban.
The Colombian department of Valle del Cauca is seeking to establish a pilot program for Colombians to train and learn skills to migrate and meet German labor market needs. (press release)
🇺🇸 United States
The US State Department has announced a new organizational structure, which does not, in fact, remove the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), despite previous reporting (see last week’s AMB). Instead, PRM has been shifted into a foreign assistance office, additionally absorbing the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP), per Just Security.
It is unclear what the impact may be on consular processing, as “there have been recent media reports of State Department plans to reduce U.S. consular staff and close some embassies and consulates,” per Fragomen.
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“President Luis Abinader has issued Decree No. 215-25 establishing the Migration Policy Observatory, a new platform designed to promote citizen participation, transparency, and oversight in shaping the Dominican Republic’s immigration policies,” including through the inclusion of some sectors of civil society. (Dominican Today)
Labor Migration
🇺🇸 United States
Niskanen Center highlights Trump administration moves “that disrupt key aspects of the legal immigration system,” including causing increased processing times.
🇨🇦 Canada
Financial Post calls for a reform to Canada’s Startup Visa Program: “the program has been ground down by bureaucracy, uncertainty, absurdly long processing times (currently four years) and rampant abuse. The program attracted many non-entrepreneurs who were solely interested in immigrating to Canada, often aided by dubious professional sponsors who were only in it for the generous fees.”
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
“Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino declared this Thursday that the migration crisis in the Darién jungle is practically resolved… Regarding the reverse flow of migrants (from north to south), Mulino indicated that it has reached 7,757 people so far this year, with 2,139 in April and 2,804 in March. Approximately 95% of these migrants are Venezuelans, followed by Colombians (3%), Peruvians, and Ecuadorians,” reports La Silla Vacía.
“More and more Cubans are coming to Suriname in large numbers, often via Panama. Their final goal is not to stay in Suriname, but to travel on to French Guiana, an overseas department of France and thus part of the European Union. Once there, they apply for political asylum, hoping for a better life within the EU,” reports Dagblad Suriname.
“This migration route is starting to become a problem, just as it happened before with Haitian migrants, when the French government filed a complaint with Suriname, because the country was seen as a transit country for illegal migration. It seems only a matter of time before France again applies pressure to stop this Cuban flow,” says Dagblad Suriname.
Borders and Enforcement
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“The Dominican Republic deported dozens of pregnant women, mothers who had just given birth, and children, back to crisis-ridden Haiti as it cracks down on illegal immigration,” reports CNN (see last week’s AMB on new targeting of enforcement efforts in hospitals). Haiti’s transitional government has strongly condemned the policy, notes Acento.
Opposition party PLD has criticized the move and advocated for “mechanisms to protect the country's borders without harming or disregarding anyone.” (Al Momento)
The UN has also criticized the policy, as has Amnesty International.
Far fewer Haitian migrants are going to the hospital, now, and many are seeking out care at night or in the wee hours. (Diario Libre)
“The General Directorate of Migration (DGM), the Dominican Municipal League (LMD), the Dominican Federation of Municipalities (Fedomu), and the Dominican Federation of Municipal Districts (Fedodim) signed an agreement to support the measures the government is implementing to combat irregular immigration and strengthen national sovereignty,” reports El Nuevo Diario.
There are now a total of around 11,000 Dominican soldiers surveilling the country’s border with Haiti, reports Listin Diario, highlighting current enforcement efforts. (see AMB 4/7/25 on newly announced initiatives)
🇺🇸 United States
“Even as the number of immigration arrests is up significantly, the current pace of deportations suggests the administration will fall well short of its stated goal of 1 million deportations annually,” says MPI, reviewing the Trump administration’s first 100 days.
“Using the budget-reconciliation process, Republican lawmakers are now preparing to lavish ICE with a colossal funding increase—enough to pay for the kind of social and demographic transformation of the United States that immigration hard-liners have long fantasized about achieving,” reports The Atlantic.
“Staffers from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are building a master database to speed-up immigration enforcement and deportations by combining sensitive data from across the federal government,” reports CNN.
“The Biden administration suspended family detention in 2021 amid growing reports of sexual harassment and violence, medical neglect and inadequate food. The Trump administration has not only reinstated the practice, but Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has said the administration would seek to challenge a longstanding settlement that limits the amount of time children can be held in detention,” reports The Guardian.
“The road that leads to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit to Canada, is notoriously difficult to navigate, even for locals. Signage is confusing, perennial construction in the vicinity doesn't help, and often Detroiters accidentally drive onto it and into a Customs and Border Protection area. And as NPR has reported, for immigrants without legal status a wrong turn onto the bridge can devolve into a nightmare: Days on end in detention in facilities alleged to be unfit for children, without access to legal counsel.… since January, 213 people have been detained at the bridge, including families with children,” reports NPR.
“Judge Blocks Trump From Defunding 16 Sanctuary Cities… A federal judge in San Francisco who issued a nearly identical order in 2017 found himself intervening again to stop President Trump from punishing cities over their immigration policy.” (New York Times)
Following increased media attention and scrutiny, ICE has canceled the $3.8 billion contract for Deployed Resources at Fort Bliss, reports ProPublica. (see AMB 4/14/25)
More on Migration
🇺🇸 United States
“The Trump administration on Friday abruptly walked back its cancellation of more than 1,500 student visas held by international students, announcing a dramatic shift by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a court hearing in Washington,” reports New York Times, noting, “Joseph F. Carilli, a Justice Department lawyer, said that immigration officials had begun work on a new system for reviewing and terminating visas for international students and that, until the process was complete, agencies would not make additional changes or further revocations.”
See also AP from earlier in the week: “International students stripped of legal status in the US are piling up wins in court”
“Members of Elon Musk’s government-slashing task force are building a system for the United States to sell special immigration visas, which President Trump has labeled “gold cards,” for $5 million apiece,” reports New York Times. (see AMB 3/3/25)