Americas Migration Brief - August 4, 2025
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇧🇷 Brazil
The Guardian highlights the integration of the growing number of Cubans seeking asylum in Brazil. In the city of Curitiba, Cubans and Venezuelans have prospered socially with the creation of new softball leagues, but challenges remain as delays in the asylum process limit access to documentation and formal work.
IOM has signed an MoU with the construction employers' union in São Paulo to facilitate immigrants’ employment and training for the construction sector, which faces labor shortages. (Folha)
The Brazilian government is set to launch a new program to support returning and deported Brazilians, including “Food, personal hygiene items, temporary shelter, ground or air transportation to the place of residence, support in regularizing documents, and referrals for training and return to work will also be provided,” per Folha.
Global Health Now reviews the successes of Brazil’s Operation Welcome to respond to Venezuelan migration, including in terms of public health access and outcomes for women and girls.
🇨🇱 Chile
Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM) published their annual report on migration in Chile. Findings include that “high levels of informality (31.4%) and significant gender gaps remain” and that “the use of basic health services is growing (more than 650,000 services in 2022) and the participation of migrant children and adolescents in the education system is increasing (276,033 migrant students in 2024, 7.7% of the national total).”
During the report launch, Chilean Senate President Manuel José Ossandón said that migrants “should be legalized so we can provide them with information, a face, and control, so they have job opportunities, because today, disorder is mixed with a lack of opportunities.” (SJM)
InfoMigra examines updates to a proposed regulation to facilitate the recognition of foreign degrees in Chile.
🇲🇽 Mexico
“Dozens of Haitian migrants have benefited from a Spanish-learning program in Chiapas. The Tapachula Cultural Center has launched a training program to help foreigners access better employment and development opportunities during their stay in Mexico,” reports El País, noting that activists estimate around 35,000 migrants living in the southern Mexican city.
“Refugee, asylum-seeking, and forcibly displaced children and adolescents in Mexico "face significant gaps" in literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional learning, according to evidence from a new study by Save the Children and UNHCR,” reports EFE. (report here)
🇨🇦 Canada
“Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back last week's pledge to wrestle some control away from the federal government to issue work permits to asylum seekers,” reports CBC. (see last week’s AMB)
🇺🇸 United States
“The agency that administers immigration benefits is making plans to carry out President Donald Trump‘s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, even though it’s currently blocked by the courts. US Citizenship and Immigration Services released July 25 an implementation plan for the executive order defining which classes of immigrant children would be affected,” reports Bloomberg, noting, “The order would limit automatic birthright citizenship, which was guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, to children with at least one parent who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident.”
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🇩🇲 Dominica
The prime minister of Dominica said that he would be potentially interested in resettling “a couple of hundred” Palestinian refugees to the Caribbean country, contingent on support from international partners such as Gulf States and the US. The Dominican government views the potential move as both humanitarian and an opportunity to address skills shortages. (St. Vincent Times, CNW)
🇨🇴 Colombia
Migración Colombia has reported over 700 cases of human trafficking since 2021. (LaFM)
🇺🇸 United States
ProPublica reveals—including with video—the violence being used by ICE agents in their efforts to apprehend those they believe may be immigrants without status, noting, “What happens if officers cross the line? Usually very little. Paths to suing federal officers are even more limited than for police officers, making it particularly hard for immigrants to hold officers accountable for any misconduct.”
WOLA and the Women’s Refugee Commission traveled to Honduras and Guatemala, reporting on the situation for deportees arriving from the US and what they are experiencing in US custody, including noting concerns about family separation of immigrant parents from US citizen children, “thousands of dollars’ worth of unreturned cash and valuables” confiscated by ICE, and that “immigration enforcement is being undertaken dangerously, with migrants subject to needless harm and abuse.”
“A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from ending deportation protections for more than 60,000 migrants from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua,” ensuring continued access to TPS until at least a November 18 hearing. (New York Times)
Potentially reversing course, the Trump administration may provide at least temporary protections to Ukrainian refugees, parolees, and other migrants in the US: ““I think we will, yes, I will,” Trump told DW’s Misha Komadovsky when asked if he would permit Ukrainians who escaped the war to stay in the U.S. “We have a lot of people that came in from Ukraine, and we’re working with them,” he added.” (Migrant Insider)
“A panel of federal judges on Friday limited President Trump's effort to close the U.S. asylum system at the southern border,” reports CBS, explaining, “The panel allowed the Trump administration to continue using the president's proclamation to deny migrants access to the U.S. asylum system… But the panel also said Mr. Trump's proclamation could not be used to prevent migrants from applying for other forms of humanitarian protections that the U.S. is legally required to give to certain migrants fleeing persecution and torture,” such as withholding of removal or Convention Against Torture protections.
“A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a groundbreaking ruling Friday, barring the Department of Homeland Security from using expedited removal to deport immigrants admitted under humanitarian parole, ensuring their right to a court hearing,” reports Migrant Insider.
“In a major asylum ruling, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has held that years of lethal threats and violence against a petitioner’s relatives can constitute direct persecution of the petitioner, even if the petitioner herself was never physically harmed,” notes Migrant Insider.
“Immigrant kids detained in "unsafe and unsanitary" sites as Trump administration seeks to end protections” (CBS)
A Brookings report by former Biden administration officials Marcela Escobari and Alex Brockwehl examines lessons from the Biden presidency. They note that the US asylum system was built for a different era, not matching current realities: “This dynamic creates two critical problems. First, it overwhelms the system. Asylum officers and immigration courts are inundated with applications, many of which—while reflecting genuine hardship—do not meet the strict legal threshold for protection. Second, it distorts migrant behavior, incentivizing individuals with primarily economic motivations to claim asylum simply to gain a foothold in the United States.” By contrast, they note that countries across Latin America have “responded to these realities with a more flexible model,” including through the use of broad-based protection programs.
Recommendations include to “Build a demand-driven, flexible legal labor migration system” and to “Improve federal coordination with cities,” among others.
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
Efecto Cocuyo reviews the status of Venezuela’s diplomatic and consular relations across Latin America—lack of access to documentation has been a key challenge for Venezuelan migrants across the region looking to regularize their status.
Due to a lack of relations with Peru and Chile, Venezuela is looking to repatriate nationals via Bolivia, reports DW.
Officials from health ministries of 18 countries across the Americas met at a PAHO forum in Brazil last month, agreeing “on key elements for a future roadmap for the ethical and sustainable management of the migration of health professionals, in response to the growing shortage of health personnel in the region,” reports (PAHO; see also an AMB special edition on opportunities to address shortages of healthcare workers in the Caribbean)
“The migration of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals is severely affecting low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Central America and the Caribbean… It is estimated that by 2030, Latin America and the Caribbean will face a shortage of between 600,000 and 2 million health professionals.”
IOM and Caricom have held eight meetings with over 127 civil society groups across the Caribbean as part of their efforts to develop the upcoming CARICOM Migration Policy Framework. (Dominica News Online)
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
“The U.S. State Department is planning to spend up to $7.85 million to help Costa Rica deport immigrants… Asked for comment, the State Department suggested that the new funds were mainly intended to help Costa Rica deport migrants passing through the country on the way to the U.S.,” reports Reuters, highlighting that the deal is modeled “in part” on an existing arrangement between the US and Panama.
Following visits by US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the US has signed new agreements with both Ecuador and Chile to enhance cooperation and information sharing related to migration and security. (AP)
Noem reported that Ecuador—long an entry-point to the Americas for extracontinental migrants—is “considering imposing new visa and entry restrictions on nationals of 45 countries, with the aim of preventing some people from using the South American country as a platform to attempt to travel to the United States without permission.” (France24)
With the recent deportation of Colombian migrants with criminal convictions (see last week’s AMB), Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa seems “inspired” by Trump, looking to vilify immigrants and create an enemy for public rhetoric, says El País.
Noem additionally confirmed that Chile will maintain its participation in the US Visa Waiver Program. It is currently the only Latin American country with access to the program. (El Mostrador)
As the Trump administration considers adding Argentina to the US Visa Waiver Program (see last week’s AMB), a cable by State Department officials acknowledged that “About 10 percent of Argentines who apply for… short-term B-visas are rejected — ‘above the 3 percent rate statutorily required for Visa Waiver Program consideration,’” reports Washington Post, noting that the beginning of the multi-year process of joining the program “is basically just a political favor,” per an anonymous State Department official.
🇬🇹🇵🇦 Panama and Guatemala
The president of Panama met with Guatemala’s foreign minister to discuss migration, among other issues, signing an MoU “to deepen cooperation against transnational organized crime, terrorism, and migrant trafficking,” per Telemetro.
🇸🇻🇭🇳 Honduras and El Salvador
Honduras and El Salvador have agreed on a new, simplified border crossing procedure at El Amatillo, reports Radio América, noting that the procedure “is expected to eventually spread to other border crossings between Honduras and El Salvador.”
🇨🇷🇵🇦 Panama and Costa Rica
Panama and Costa Rica signed a protocol to facilitate labor migration between the two countries. (Delfino)
Labor Migration
🇨🇦 Canada
Canada “is exploring changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program that would give workers more freedom to move jobs within their industry, rather than have their permits tied to a single employer,” reports The Globe and Mail, highlighting six proposals for changes related to housing, wages, access to health care and transportation for workers. But some advocates are concerned about some of the proposals, including those that “would ditch proposed indoor temperature standards designed to protect workers from extreme heat while also allowing farmers and food processors to deduct thousands of dollars in worker wages to pay for housing,” per National Observer. The Migrant Rights Network conducted consultations with migrant workers to get their input on the proposals, finding that the community was “overwhelmingly against the proposed changes,” reports The Star.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
Catherine Osborn reviews at Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief how migrants in Latin America are turning to other regional destinations in response to hardline policies in the US, including an uptick in migration to Paraguay (primarily of Brazilians) and a rise in Ecuadorian migration to Argentina.
“Only 10 migrants traveled northward through the Darién Gap in June,” reports Axios
Migration had transformed local communities in the Darien during the 2020s. Now, a EU and NRC project will look to support those communities, reports EFE.
“As many as 5,000 mostly Latin America migrants are now housed in 16 Mexico City shelters or in private apartments or houses in some of the capital’s poorer neighborhoods… The decision to house them in the city is part of a government strategy to discourage migrants away from the border and into the interior,” reports El País, highlighting how migrants that once looked to move to the US are now stranded in Mexico, with some thinking of returning home.
🇨🇴 Colombia
A Migración Colombia report explores irregular transit migration through Colombia from January to April 2025, finding a 63% drop compared to the same period in 2024, and noting that more migrants were detected entering Colombia from Ecuador than from Venezuela. Around 7,300 were recorded entering from Panama and the Darien Gap.
Borders and Enforcement
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Haitian officials are pleased about the Dominican Republic’s renovation of the Haina Migration Processing Center, reports Haiti Libre. (see last week’s AMB)
🇦🇼 Aruba
“A boat carrying 16 undocumented Venezuelans heading to Aruba was intercepted” (Crónicas del Caribe)
🇺🇸 United States
MPI explores the Trump administration’s efforts to recruit the help of state and local authorities in its push to expand immigration enforcement. Findings include that the Trump administration has significantly expanded 287(g) agreements to “deputize states and localities to perform certain immigration enforcement functions… Since January, DHS has signed more than 730 new 287(g) agreements, raising the total number of existing agreements to a record 866.”
“New FEMA grant program gives states $600M to build migrant detention centers” (The Hill)
“Over and over again, Democratic members of Congress have attempted to enter Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities to investigate the conditions inside—and again and again they have been turned away, even though federal law guarantees them access to ICE detention facilities in order to conduct oversight… Now, the issue is heading to court,” reports Mother Jones.
Despite changes in rhetoric and various policies between administrations, immigration enforcement systems remain persistent, writes Austin Kocher at his Substack: “What makes this cycle particularly entrenched is that immigration enforcement has become locked into place through what researchers call a "ratchet effect"—policies and systems that move in one direction but rarely come back the other way. The expansion of immigration enforcement infrastructure creates fiscal obligations, staffing commitments, and contractual arrangements that become increasingly difficult to dismantle.”
“Relevant Research is launching a new tool today to provide up-to-date information about ICE’s immigrant detention centers across the United States. Deportation Reports finally makes individual detention-center-level data—including Interval ADP—available to the public in an easy-to-reference format.” Check out the tool here. (Austin Kocher’s Substack)
“The United States breaks its record with 209 deportation flights in June after registering the first major increase of the Trump era.” (El País)
“More Than 1,000 Troops Are Withdrawn From L.A.: The move continues a scaling back of President Trump’s military deployment in Southern California that began on June 7” (New York Times)
More on Migration
🇪🇨 Ecuador
Ecuador is inaugurating its first cédula ID printing office outside of the country, doing so in Madrid, Spain. (press release)
🇦🇷 Argentina
“Argentine government formalizes investment citizenship program: Any foreign national who makes a ‘significant’ investment is now eligible for citizenship as part of Milei’s immigration reform — but the new rules do not state a minimum value” (Buenos Aires Herald)
🇬🇩 Grenada
“The head of Grenada’s Investment Migration Agency (IMA), Thomas Anthony, says the country will step up efforts to market its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme in West Africa,” reports CNW.