Americas Migration Brief - August 5, 2024
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🌎 Regional
The scenes out of Venezuela and the clearly stolen election are disturbing, and the eventual outcome of last week’s election and following events remains unclear (see Latin America Risk Report for some potential scenarios and see recent editions of the Latin America Daily Briefing for more details). There will be an impact on migration, though, with many expressing concern that fraud and repression will push more Venezuelans to flee the country. Venezuela has also pulled their diplomatic corps from seven countries, leaving a gap in documentation services for Venezuelans in those countries, which may impact their ability to regularize status, obtain services, and effectively integrate in their host communities; the country has also canceled flights to and from multiple countries, including Panama, a key connecting airport. (Fragomen, El Pitazo)
Deepening crisis in Venezuela and emigration will increase pressure on host countries and further a humanitarian crisis “as host and transit countries struggle to provide adequate food, shelter, and medical care to the growing number of refugees,” says CEDA.
The former minister of foreign affairs of Chile, Antonia Urrejola, highlighted that it is “urgent that countries in the region coordinate a response to a new wave of Venezuelan migration,” reports La Tercera. Many experts and officials across the region have expressed concern that they are not prepared for a new surge in migration, such as in Colombia (RCN Radio) and Chile (BioBioChile).
Chile is considering the introduction of a regional quota system to balance reception of migrants, although the idea is still being investigated and would require agreement from other countries, notes La Tercera.
“In a poll of Venezuelan voters two months ago, more than 40% indicated they would consider leaving the country if Maduro remains in power,” notes Emerson Collective’s Immigration Update.
“A poll in April by Delphos found nearly a quarter of Venezuelans said they would consider emigrating if Maduro extended his rule. Another by ClearPath Strategies showed that while 19% of those who’d leave would do so immediately, 48% would take between one and six months to go. In a Datincorp poll in June, nearly 70% of respondents said they had at least one or more family members who had fled,” reports WSJ, highlighting stories of those now looking to emigrate.
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“The Director General of Migration, Venancio Alcántara, stated this Tuesday that in the Dominican Republic there are 43,000 Venezuelan nationals registered under the umbrella of the Regularization Plan for Venezuelans, of which 17,000 are legalized and have already withdrawn their identification cards,” reports Diario Libre.
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
“The registration process for migrant children into Tobago schools is currently underway,” reports Loop. (see last week’s AMB on registration eligibility)
🇧🇷 Brazil
With UNHCR’s support, the state of Pará has strengthened the integration and reception of migrants, refugees, and stateless persons—including through fortifying the right to education and developing a municipal action plan in the capital of Belém that uniquely considers the role of the environment and climate adaptation. (UNHCR)
🇦🇷 Argentina
A CAREF report explores access to healthcare for migrant children in Argentina.
🇻🇪 Venezuela
A report by UNHCR and UCAB explores the reintegration of Venezuelan returnees. (via Forced Migration Current Awareness)
🇵🇪 Peru
Infobae highlights the positive economic and fiscal budget impacts of Venezuelan migration to Peru.
🇨🇴 Colombia
Proyecto Migración Venezuela highlights efforts by the private sector in the city of Bucaramanga to integrate Venezuelan migrants.
🇺🇸 United States
Despite growing support for immigration in the US in recent years, “the June 2024 Gallup poll reveals a sharp decline in pro-immigration attitudes in the United States, returning to levels last seen in the early 2000s,” explains Alexander Kustov at Good Authority, noting that “Public opinion often moves against the current administration’s policies, acting as a ‘thermostat.’”
MPI explores the efforts of cities in the interior of the US to receive recent migrant arrivals, noting, “Drawing from their ethos of welcoming immigrants, many cities quickly triaged arrivals and built on initial services over time. As cities such as New York and Denver began to feel overwhelmed and their capacities were stretched thin, authorities placed limits on services and in some cases even sought to discourage migrants from coming,” adding, “The federal government has largely declined to take the lead in developing mechanisms for assisting border arrivals’ onward movement and appropriately compensating cities that receive them. A change of course would be beneficial not only for those migrants but for the host cities as well.”
The Destination Reception Assistance Act, introduced in Congress last week, “would provide critical federal funding for local reception efforts supporting asylum seekers to achieve self-sufficiency in destination communities,” notes a Refugees International statement supporting the initiative.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
InSight Crime investigates Latin America’s organ trafficking industry and explains how “continuing waves of migration within and through Latin America have provided human traffickers with a vast supply of potential organ recruits,” noting that the industry preys on the vulnerability of migrants.
“Of 959 citizens of Ecuador interviewed by UNHCR along the US-bound migration route in 2023, 59% said they were fleeing “generalized violence” and 28% said they themselves had been victims of violence.” (UNHCR; via Daily Border Links)
The New Humanitarian highlights the dangers of migration through specific routes across the Darien Gap heading north to the US.
🇯🇲 Jamaica
35 Haitian migrants who landed by boat in Jamaica last weekend “were sent home less than 24 hours after arriving,” reports Gleaner, noting that the “the Haitians reportedly claimed that they were fleeing persecution, civil unrest, gang warfare, and economic hardships in their country.”
Jamaica’s government is awaiting a legal opinion to guide the construction of a potential 1-year legal status for over 50 Haitians that arrived in the country by boat last year. (Radio Jamaica News)
🇬🇹 Guatemala
207 Mexicans displaced by violence to Guatemala are being granted a 30-day humanitarian visa. (N+, Soy502)
🇲🇽 Mexico
More than 400 have been newly displaced by a drone attack in Nueva Reforma, Chiapas, reports Red Jesuita Con Migrantes, calling for urgent action to provide protection to growing numbers of displaced persons in the southern Mexican state.
Mexico’s Secretariat of the Interior called for the country’s refugee commission to be more selective in its granting of refugee status. (EFE)
A Seattle University and Kino Border Initiative report explores protection issues and the violent context that displaces refugees from Guerrero, Mexico.
🇨🇴 Colombia
A ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court “orders the Foreign Ministry to design a protocol for the early termination of visas with a gender and intercultural focus, which guarantees protection for those fleeing their countries of origin,” reports El Tiempo.
🇻🇨 St. Vincent and the Grenadines
IOM DTM interviews of persons displaced in shelters by Hurricane Beryl found that 81% reported being unable to return to their homes.
🇺🇸 United States
The Biden administration will expand access to appointments for the CBPOne app to the southern states of Chiapas and Tabasco, “potentially easing strains on the Mexican government and lessening dangers for people trying to reach the U.S. border to claim asylum,” per AP.
The Biden administration has temporarily suspended new arrivals through the humanitarian parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans as it reportedly investigates cases of fraud from some sponsor applicants—not the migrants themselves. The pause is not expected to be long lasting. (EFE, CBS, Washington Post)
“Asylum Officers’ Union Opposes Biden Border Restrictions. The group, which represents some officers in charge of carrying out President Biden’s asylum measure, said in a court filing that the policy illegally limited migrants’ protections.” (New York Times)
“On July 25, 2024, the United States forcibly repatriated Haitians for the third time since April. The Biden administration had previously paused deportation flights to Haiti in January 2024, only to resume them just a few months later despite the continued widespread, extreme violence in the country. Both the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have urged the United States to suspend forced returns to Haiti at this time. Instead of endangering Haitians seeking safety, it is crucial that the United States take steps to provide Haitians with meaningful access to lawful pathways to seek safety from the violence engulfing their country,” says IRAP.
“Undocumented immigrants who are working with government agencies investigating labor abuses against their employers now will have double the time — up to four years — to be protected from deportation,” reports WGBH.
“Recent research documented the deep physical and psychological toll wrought by the use of solitary confinement in United States immigration detention centers… The US should end solitary confinement in immigration detention and work toward ending immigration detention as a whole,” says Human Rights Watch.
Former Biden administration official Katie Tobin explains at WSJ her experience working with presidential candidate Kamala Harris on migration: “Whether Kamala Harris was the “border czar” is beside the point. The vice president made historic progress on the complex issue of Central American migration. Many Republicans distort the facts that I saw up close during my time in the White House.”
The Root Causes strategy that Harris headed in Northern Central America was also a long-term initiative, not intended to have immediate impacts on migration numbers, as I explained to Bloomberg.
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, explaining that “preliminary reports indicate that Border Patrol apprehended 57,000-60,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in July 2024. That is the smallest monthly total of the Biden administration and the fewest since September 2020. The drop illustrates the short-term impact of Mexico’s crackdown on migration in transit and the Biden administration’s June 5 rule restricting asylum access. Numbers are also down further south along the U.S.-bound migration route, in Panama and Honduras.”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, the private sector, and IOM are together “(launching) a campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the Border Worker Visitor Card (TVTF) to migrants and potential employers… IOM seeks to encourage the regularization of Guatemalan and Belizean cross-border workers in southern Mexico using the TVTF.” (El Diario)
IOM and the Regional Conference on Migration hosted a workshop focused on “advancing labour traceability systems and migration mechanisms across Central America.” On the sidelines, Belizean and Costa Rican officials “engaged in high-level discussions on labour migration,” reports Channel 5.
“Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders ended their summit on Tuesday night, unable to sign off on the arrangements to facilitate the free and full movement of CARICOM nationals. The leaders had originally hoped to have put the process in place by the end of March,” reports CNW.
Check out my special edition of the AMB from last year about the challenges and opportunities of expanding free movement in the Caribbean.
The fourth Iberoamerican forum on migration and development, hosted by Ecuador last week, brought together 22 countries to discuss diverse topics related to migration and integration. (press releases 1 and 2)
A Women’s Refugee Commission brief “proposes several recommendations to promote orderly and safe migration throughout the region, including developing practical and effective legal migration pathways, improving the Safe Mobility initiative, working with civil society to implement the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, increasing support for Mexico’s asylum system and migrant shelters, and supporting deported non-Mexican migrants’ integration in Mexico.”
🇭🇳🇺🇸 United States and Honduras
US and Honduran officials met to discuss migration, with a readout noting that “Honduras agreed to further streamline its coordination with the United States on removals of Honduran noncitizens who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States,” and that “To support those returning home, Honduras is also working to expand its reintegration programs, including with U.S. support.”
Labor Migration
🇨🇦 Canada
“Canada's government is preparing to unveil a suite of measures to clamp down on temporary immigration and has no plans to follow through right now on a broad program offering status to undocumented residents, the country's immigration minister told Reuters… Miller would not give details but said these measures could include changes to post-graduate work permits and enforcement.” (Reuters)
“Canada needs renewable energy experts, but immigrant engineers are buried in paperwork,” reports The Narwhal, highlighting degree and title recognition challenges.
An MPI report utilizing Talent Beyond Boundaries survey data explores labor pathways for refugees, highlighting efforts by Canada, among other countries.
🇺🇸 United States
Washington Post highlights the difficulties highly skilled migrants have in migrating to the US for work, explaining that “restrictions push many, including some skilled workers employers want and need, to seek illegal routes to work in the United States.”
“Filings and approvals increased significantly for high-skilled visas after the Biden administration published favorable guidance… The guidance represented part of a broader Biden administration push to welcome high-skilled science and engineering talent that reversed what many employers and attorneys viewed as hostility toward such talent from Trump officials,” explains Forbes.
Migrants in Transit
🇧🇸 The Bahamas
Irregular migration to the Bahamas (from Haiti) has “slowed “considerably” since the start of the year,” reports The Tribune.
🇬🇹 Guatemala
“Due to a suspension of government funding, five temporary shelters for in-transit migrants closed in Guatemala between November 2023 and March 2024, according to Expediente Público.” (via Daily Border Links)
🇨🇺 Cuba
CEDA’s US-Cuba News Brief highlights continued incidents of maritime emigration from Cuba.
🇵🇪 Peru
A CEPAL report explores internal migration in Peru from 2007 to 2017.
Borders and Enforcement
🌎 Regional
Various countries have fortified their border enforcement in response to concerns of increased Venezuelan migration. Peru and Chile, for example, have both strengthened enforcement at their respective northern borders. (El Universal, La Tercera, El Mercurio)
🇧🇷 Brazil
An increase in cases of irregular migration and human trafficking have led Brazil to create a new specialized unit, the National Unit to Combat International Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (UNTC). (SBT)
🇬🇹 Guatemala
The infamous Kaibiles specialized military unit has been deployed to Guatemala’s border with Mexico to conduct enforcement and prevent the entry of criminal elements, reports Milenio.
🇺🇸 United States
“In a new video ad and at an Atlanta campaign rally yesterday, Harris attacked Trump for leading opposition to a Senate “border deal” bill in February that would have paid for hiring more Border Patrol agents and would have cut off asylum access when border encounters exceed a daily threshold. “As president, I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed, and I will sign it into law,” Harris said yesterday.” (NPR, CNN; via Daily Border Links)
More on Migration
🇲🇽 Mexico
Remittances growth to Mexico is slowing, but still is on track to hit 3% this year, according to the Inter-American Dialogue.