Americas Migration Brief - April 29, 2024
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Special announcement: Americas Migration Brief partner Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) is proud to announce its evolution into CEDA (pronounced seh-dah/se-da), short for the Center for Engagement and aDvocacy in the Americas. The rebrand better reflects the organization's evolving mission and the broad scope of their work across the Americas. Check out CEDA’s full announcement here (y en español aquí), and learn more about the organization’s history and rebranding here.
Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇧🇷 Brazil
A paper at SSRN studying the violent crime-related impacts of Venezuelan migration to Brazil finds that “the sudden influx of refugees did not affect violent crime in which natives were victimized.” Although the increased Venezuelan migration did see increased violent crime against Venezuelans themselves, “Victimization of migrants seems to have increased at a slower pace than their presence in the host country.”
🇨🇴 Colombia
An LAER paper exploring Venezuelan migration to Cali, Colombia finds that although “immigration as such does not increase crime,” economic inclusion plays a key role: “there is a positive spatial relationship between the Unemployment of the immigrant population and the levels of crime in the City of Cali.”
UNHCR highlights the stories of Venezuelan entrepreneurs that have benefitted from the Graduation Model, a program that “uses a series of workshops, trainings and mentorship to help refugees and displaced people build small businesses and become economically self-sufficient.”
🇦🇷 Argentina
CAREF and partners in a public statement denounce the criminalization of migrants by the city government of Buenos Aires, asserting that local officials have unjustly scapegoated and associated migrants with crime in public statements.
La Nación highlights the growing number of Venezuelans and other immigrants in Buenos Aires, where the immigrant population is quite diverse.
🇨🇱 Chile
An Espacio Público and Centro de Políticas Migratorias report explores public opinion about migration in Chile and social cohesion in the country. Recommendations include improving access to education and coexistence in schools and developing opportunities for consultation and exchange in local communities.
A Centro de Estudios Públicos report also investigates public opinion in Chile, including a nationally-representative survey as well as an over-represented survey with a focus on the north of the country. Public opinion has soured on migration, and 74% of those surveyed believe that the most recent group of migrants from the last 5 years are “worse” than migrants that had arrived prior to 5 years ago.
🇪🇨 Ecuador
“More than 95,000 exceptional temporary residence visas (Virte) were delivered by the Government to foreigners between October 1, 2022 and April 11, 2024,” reports El Universo, noting that the application period is closed.
🇺🇸 United States
“Officials inside the White House and at the Department of Homeland Security have been studying a range of proposals to provide work permits or deportation relief for millions of undocumented immigrants who have lived and worked in the U.S. for a long time. They have zeroed in on the population of mixed-status families, where typically the children and one parent are U.S. citizens, because they believe that demographic is the most compelling,” reports Wall Street Journal, adding, “The most popular idea inside the administration is to use an immigration tool known as “parole in place,”... Granting undocumented spouses parole in place would make many of them immediately eligible for work permits. Perhaps more significantly, it would clear the administrative cobwebs preventing spouses from being granted green cards, meaning the move could ultimately offer them a path to citizenship.”
An MPI report “examines the projected educational demands of future U.S. jobs and how well the education and training of today’s workers meets those demands,” with a focus on immigrant-origin workers.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
“On Thursday, refugee and human rights advocates presented testimony before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in Barbados to inform the Court’s upcoming advisory opinion regarding States’ human rights obligations in the context of the climate emergency,” says IRAP. Check out amicus briefs submitted to the court from IRAP and partners here and from UNHCR here. (see also AMB 3/4/24)
A UNICEF paper explores child migration across the Americas, including routes, causes, protection risks, and access to rights.
🇨🇴 Colombia
In a new ruling, Colombia’s Constitutional Court “indicated that the State has a series of obligations before, during and after displacement due to environmental factors. Among them, it highlighted the importance of creating an administrative registration system to recognize the situation of people displaced by environmental factors and to be able to organize the institutional offer in response to their situation… the Court urged Congress to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework to address the phenomenon of internal forced displacement due to environmental factors.” (press release)
🇸🇻 El Salvador
Internal displacement in El Salvador is on the rise, reports Prensa Latina, noting that the primary cause of displacement has shifted from gangs to the National Civil Police (PNC).
🇯🇲 Jamaica
An interim injunction by Jamaica’s Supreme Court now prevents the government from deporting Haitian asylum seekers in the country, reports Radio Jamaica News.
🇨🇼 Curaçao
Curaçao Chronicle highlights concerns surrounding detention of migrant minors and family separation in Curaçao.
🇬🇫 French Guiana
French Guiana lacks any reception center for asylum seekers despite increasing numbers—in the hundreds in total, mainly from Afghanistan, as well as Syria—according to Info Libertaire; “One or two HUDA projects (emergency accommodation for asylum seekers) are in the pipeline but in remote municipalities, without administrative follow-up, so transport problems are to be expected to access the procedures that are carried out in the center of Cayenne.”
🇨🇱 Chile
A Centro de Políticas Migratorias report explores “the role that the Judiciary has played in the protection and guarantee of the rights of refugees, applicants for recognition of refugee status and others who require international protection.”
🇧🇷 Brazil
A Global Anthropological Dialogues paper explores the operations of Brazil’s National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) and its methods to “respond to crises and keep the "public machinery" running "efficiently".” (via Forced Migration Current Awareness)
🇺🇸 United States
The National Immigration Forum and partners from the Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus have proposed a new legislative framework for the border that includes a call to “Modernize the U.S. asylum process by creating a specialized corps of asylum officers with the authority to adjudicate most asylum claims at the border within 45-60 days.” (press release)
A CMS paper “examines the staffing needs of the US Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), as it seeks to eliminate an immigration court backlog, which approached 2.5 million pending cases at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023.”
In addition, “the authors have developed an interactive tool that permits policymakers, administrators, and others to assess (Immigration Judge) hiring needs based on changed circumstances and under different scenarios.” The “BacklogPredictor3000” is available here.
“In April 2022, the Biden administration created an unprecedented program known as "Uniting for Ukraine," allowing an unlimited number of Ukrainians sponsored by Americans to come to the U.S. and work here legally without having to go through the lengthy visa process… In two years, U.S. immigration officials have approved more than 236,000 cases,” reports CBS, highlighting that “Applications for the Uniting for Ukraine program are also adjudicated fairly quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks or even days.”
“Almost three years after the Taliban retook control of Kabul, the 120,000 Afghans who managed to escape to the U.S. and many more who failed in their attempts remain in grave uncertainty and, in some cases, danger. The U.S. needs to take action to regularize the immigration status of those who were airlifted out of Afghanistan and to assist those who remained,” says Niskanen Center, calling for the passing of the Afghan Adjustment Act.
Recently introduced Senate bills would “dramatically limit” the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention, notes The Marshall Project, albeit showing skepticism of their becoming law.
“The Biden administration released the 771-page text of a final rule to govern the treatment of unaccompanied migrant children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.” (Twitter; via WOLA)
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, additionally highlighting Panamanian, Guatemalan, and Mexican migrant removals and enforcement.
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
The Montevideo Declaration, signed following a meeting of members of the Solidarity Cities program in relation to the Cartagena+40 process, emphasizes strategic cooperation and “represents a firm commitment of local authorities and supportive cities of Latin America and the Caribbean in addressing the humanitarian and social challenges posed in cities and communities of transit and destination, the reception and integration of refugees and migrants in the region.” (declaration, press release)
🇬🇹🇸🇻🇭🇳🇲🇽 Mexico and Central America
“Mexico and Guatemala agreed to strengthen the processes of protection, care and return of migrant girls, boys and adolescents during a visit,” reports Prensa Latina.
“Mexico’s next president must depart from past policies and pursue more comprehensive strategies to promote development in its southern neighbors, while improving the management of migration from the Northern Triangle,” says Brenda Estefan at Americas Quarterly, additionally calling for greater coordination with the US on the issue.
🇨🇴 Colombia
Cali hosted a “Network of Cities for Reception, Inclusion and Migratory Development” meeting with 9 other Colombian cities and 3 municipalities. (press release)
Labor Migration
🇺🇸 United States
“On April 26, 2024, the Department of Labor announced a final rule, “Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States” (“Farmworker Protection Rule”), strengthening protections for agricultural workers,” including expanding and clarifying protection from retaliation. (press release, rule text)
🇸🇷 Suriname
The Surinamese government has expressed concern surrounding emigration of healthcare workers to places such as the Dutch-speaking islands in the Caribbean, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In response, the government has sought to establish measures that include a “brain drain allowance” to attempt to retain workers and avoid their labor migration. (Dagblad Suriname)
🇸🇻 El Salvador
100%Noticias highlights Nicaraguan circular migration to El Salvador to work in salt harvesting.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
Redes Chaco in a pair of reports (1, 2) dives into the complex relationship between climate change and the environment and migration in the Gran Chaco Americano, which touches Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay, calling for an emphasis on prevention and resilience over emergency response and for recognition of access to water as a fundamental human right, among other recommendations, including a focus on Indigenous populations.
An IOM and UNODC report explores migrant smuggling in Mexico, Central America, and the Dominican Republic.
“This quarter saw a rising number of Venezuelans leaving their host countries to move northwards towards the U.S. mainly due to their experiences in host countries and perceived better opportunities in the U.S.,” according to a Mixed Migration Centre report.
Inter-American Dialogue highlights emigration from the Andean region, as well as remittances.
🇨🇴 Colombia
The government of Colombia is considering multiple proposals to try to improve the migration path through the Darien Gap to Panama, including “the possibility of building a road in the area, but in cobblestone material to impact the already affected jungle as little as possible,” as well as the construction of government-run docks at Turbo and Necoclí. (Caracol)
🇭🇳 Honduras
“While most of the thousands of migrants per week transiting Honduras pass through the country quickly, some need to stay and seek temporary work, medical assistance, and shelter, the Honduran online outlet ContraCorriente reported. While some formal shelters and humanitarian aid exist, many migrants rely on informal shelters provided by local citizens or stay in rented rooms in private homes.” (ContraCorriente; via WOLA)
Borders and Enforcement
🇲🇽 Mexico
“While Mexico’s efforts make migrants’ journey north riskier, costlier and slower, uneven enforcement and widespread corruption are disrupting efforts to staunch the steady flow of groups crossing Mexico in their quest to reach the US,” says Financial Times, noting, “migrants say the Mexican authorities are unpredictable. Sometimes agents force them south, to start all over again. Other times they ask for bribes. Sometimes they offer bus rides to cities further north.”
“Guatemalan migrants are also subject to rapid removal not published in the official statistics, two people with knowledge of the practice said.”
🇺🇸 United States
“Half of Americans — including 42% of Democrats — say they'd support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants,” per an Axios poll.
“Did Title 42 in fact lead to a better managed border? The evidence indicates it was not the success its admirers contend in limiting irregular migration, and it may represent failed deterrence. During its use, the numbers of encounters surged and cases of migrants attempting unauthorized re-entry soared,” says MPI.
“During just the last six months, about a half million immigrants were deported by ICE or by Border Patrol agents. This does not include an additional 137,000 immigrants ordered deported in increasing numbers by immigration judges,” notes TRAC, breaking down the data on these deportations and explaining that “While Immigration Judges are increasing the pace of issuing removal orders, fewer immigrants ordered removed have been able to secure representation to help them present their cases.”
🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos
“The Turks and Caicos Islands warned Thursday that it will not stop going after undocumented Haitian migrants in its territory and will continue to target employers who harbor, hire and employ them… the British dependent territory is seeing a “significant surge” in undocumented Haitians trying to enter the islands, where many of the 40,000 residents are of Haitian descent,” reports Miami Herald, noting a 52% increase in maritime apprehensions between 2022 and 2023 and that 851 migrants have been stopped since Christmas.
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Migration—particularly deportation efforts and building a wall at the DR-Haiti border—featured heavily in a debate for the upcoming presidential elections, reports France24.
🇨🇴 Colombia
Despite earlier reports, “The president, Gustavo Petro, denied this Friday that his Government plans to ask for a valid passport from Venezuelans who enter the country, in contradiction to a draft resolution from the Foreign Ministry that would be planning to establish this mechanism for access to the national territory,” reports Proyecto Venezuela.
More on Migration
🇲🇽 Mexico
Migration has not played a role in Mexico’s current presidential elections (despite being a protagonist in other elections across the hemisphere), reports AP, noting, “Mexico’s presidential frontrunner, Claudia Sheinbaum, didn’t even include a mention of immigration when she announced 100 campaign commitments last month.”