Americas Migration Brief - February 26, 2024
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🌎 Regional
“A wide variety of studies and meta-analyses have found that immigrants do not generally reduce wages or job opportunities for native-born workers. But rents and home prices are a different story. The problem arises when governments effectively prohibit the supply of housing from rising in line with demand,” explains Eric Levitz at Vox, arguing that the US public’s attitude towards immigration is in part shaped by a lack of housing supply due to restrictionist, “NIMBY” housing policy. “Between 2012 and 2022, Americans formed 15.6 million new households but built only 11.9 million new housing units.”
In comparative perspective, Levitz highlights that Canada “has long been considered an exceptionally pro-immigrant country. Yet it has struggled to sustain popular support for liberal immigration policies amid its deepening housing shortage.”
Migrants in Latin America and the Caribbean face unique challenges in achieving financial inclusion, including “restrictions on access to bank accounts and credit services, vulnerability to predatory practices, and challenges specific to refugees and newcomers, such as lack of credit history,” explains CAF, breaking down data from financial inclusion surveys in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. In Costa Rica, for example, 38% of migrants reported having a product like a checking account to receive payments, compared to 57% of non-migrants.
Venezuelan migration offers an opportunity for development in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, but requires social and economic inclusion, according to a World Bank blog about a new report. The report is based on survey data in each of the countries and explores the sociodemographic profile, labor market outcomes, and social cohesion of Venezuelan migrants.
A scoping review paper at The Lancet examines “available evidence in Latin America and the Caribbean concerning communication and narrative speeches related to international migration and its implications for population health, particularly when associated with stigma and discrimination against migrants and refugees.”
🇨🇱 Chile
A Nómade Consultora and Centro de Políticas Migratorias study explores migrant housing in Chile, finding that the vast majority of migrants rent, rather than own, their home. Findings also include that 18.5% of migrant households experience overcrowding compared to 3% of Chilean households, notes T13.
Migrant women make up 42% of migrant workforce hires in Chile, highlighting gender gaps and the need for inclusive policy, says El Mostrador, citing a TeamWork study on migrant labor market participation.
🇨🇴 Colombia
Some regularized migrants in Colombia may now access the Renta Ciudadana conditional cash transfer program, per a January 2024 resolution. (Red+)
A CEPAL paper explores the unique challenges faced by Venezuelan migrant women in Colombia.
The Red de Ciudades Cómo Vamos published a series of papers on the socioeconomic integration of migrants in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín.
🇧🇷 Brazil
“Aimed at regularizing migrants in São Paulo, Operation Horizon begins a new phase and runs until May” (MigraMundo)
🇧🇿 Belize
Belize delivered “the first batch of permanent residency documents to persons who applied under the government’s Amnesty Program.” (Channel 5)
🇲🇽 Mexico
Mexico’s positioning as a country of destination for immigrants is unclear, say Silvia Giorguli and Claudia Masferrer in Este País, explaining, “On the one hand, we find signs of solidarity and support and, on the other, suspicions and expressions of xenophobia and nationalism.”
🇩🇲 Dominica
IOM highlights the experience of being a foreign student in Dominica, noting African, Asian, and US migration to study in local medical schools.
🇺🇸 United States
“Several well-publicized acts of violence by migrants in New York have unsettled some city leaders, but police statistics do not point toward a surge in crime,” explains New York Times, highlighting that unfounded perceptions of criminality have led to hostility and xenophobia.
“In 2023, researchers at Stanford University found that immigrants were imprisoned at lower rates than people born in the United States. In 2020, a Princeton University study noted that undocumented immigrants in Texas tended to have fewer felony arrests than legal residents.”
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
Three Nicaraguan migrants drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande last week, reports La Prensa.
Two more migrants were reported killed by the organized crime attack in Sonora, Mexico from two weeks ago, bringing the death toll to three. (El Comercio, see last week’s AMB)
🇨🇴 Colombia
“The Constitutional Court of Colombia has ordered the National Government to design and implement, within a period of six months, a public policy aimed at reducing the administrative backlog in the processing of refugee applications,” reports Proyecto Venezuela.
“In the first fifteen days of 2024, media and community leaders have reported violent and highly concerning events from across Colombia’s Pacific region. According to preliminary data from local authorities and UN OCHA, escalating conflict in the area forced more than 3,000 people to flee their homes, and an additional 10,000 remain confined in their homes,” reports NRC.
🇨🇱 Chile
The anticipated law to restrict access to refugee status and facilitate immediate deportations in some cases was published; InfoMigra breaks down the policy. (see last week’s AMB)
Amnesty International has criticized the law and argued that it “constitutes an illegitimate restriction on the right to seek asylum” and “is contrary to the principle of non-refoulement.”
Implementation of deportations relies on diplomatic and technical coordination, notes the director of the National Migration Service, Luis Eduardo Thayer, to CNN. “Today it works with the Peruvian authorities and in the case of the border with Bolivia, returns of Bolivian people are carried out.”
A former member of the Venezuelan military, now a refugee in Chile, was kidnapped last week, leading to fears that the Venezuelan government was involved in the crime. Another former Venezuelan military member has now requested state protection in case he may be targeted, too. (El País, Radio)
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico
Thousands of Dominicans each year migrate irregularly by boat from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, crossing the Mona Passage. “Fraught with strong currents and huge waves, many who undertake the perilous journey never make it ashore,” says The Guardian, noting that an increasing number of Haitians are also making the journey.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
La Prensa highlights Costa Rica’s role as a refuge for Central American journalists fleeing persecution.
🇺🇸 United States
“President Biden is debating whether to invoke a sweeping presidential authority that gained infamy during the Trump administration to stage a crackdown on migrants coming to the U.S. southern border” by “severely” restricting access to asylum, reports CBS, noting, “It's unclear how the Biden administration expects its own effort to invoke the 212(f) authority to prevail in court. U.S. law gives migrants on American soil the right to request asylum, even if they cross the border without authorization.”
Immigration advocates and progressive Democrats have strongly criticized the proposed move. (The Hill, The Guardian)
“The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is the policy playbook for a second Trump administration, and its impacts on immigration would be far more complex and destructive than previously reported… These proposals circumvent Congress and the courts and are specifically engineered to dismantle the foundations of our immigration system,” explains Niskanen Center, breaking down the proposed policies.
“Trump and allies planning militarized mass deportations, detention camps” (Washington Post)
National Immigrant Justice Center outlines “10 Ways The Biden Administration Should Reshape Immigration Policy,” including to “Focus resources on processing at ports of entry and adjudications of asylum, work authorization and other applications,” to “Create a White House task force for coordinating reception and welcoming services among the federal government, state and local governments, and civil society,” and to “Establish a central unit to consider requests for a Chance to Come Home for people who have been wrongfully deported.”
“Although Border Patrol hasn’t publicly reported on the number of migrant deaths since fiscal year 2021, Salon obtained CBP’s most recent report on unidentified remains, which lists a total of 895 reported migrant deaths during fiscal year 2022. Despite Border Patrol’s restrictive policies for reporting remains, this is an all-time high,” says Salon, highlighting efforts by volunteers to track migrant deaths during crossings and explaining that CBP’s figures are “a serious undercount.”
“Asylum-seeking moms claim they were expelled to Mexico a day after giving birth” (Courthouse News Service)
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, explaining that “The week of February 9-16 saw nine known examples of alleged human rights abuse, misconduct, or other reasons for concern about the organizational culture at U.S. border law enforcement agencies.”
🇨🇦 Canada
Canada “announced a new immigration pathway for families impacted by the ongoing conflict in Sudan,” reports CIC News.
“An asylum seeker who waited hours in the cold to be allowed inside a Mississauga shelter (near Toronto) died over the weekend, say advocates demanding immediate action to address growing pressure on the region's already overcrowded shelter system.” (CBC)
“At least 200 skilled refugees from Tanzania and Mexico will be welcomed to Canada through the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP),” reports Canada Immigration News.
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
With the help of the IDB, Costa Rica and Panama have inaugurated a new Integrated Control Center for reception of migrants and border operations at Paso Canoas, on the Costa Rican side of the two countries’ shared border. (Tvn, press release)
“Guyana is yet to sign on to the Samoa Agreement – the successor to the Cotonou Agreement that the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) has with the European Union (EU) – as it is addressing concerns, including (related to) the matter of refugees,” reports Stabroek News.
Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago are considering setting up a regional ferry service. (Stabroek News)
🇨🇦🇺🇸 United States and Canada
“The U.S. is pushing Canada to impose visa requirements on Mexican visitors, aiming to stem a surge in illegal crossings at the northern border… Officials in the U.S. say that Mexican migrants are using the Canadian border as a back door into the U.S.,” reports Wall Street Journal.
🇩🇪🇨🇴 Colombia and Germany
Colombia and Germany have established a working group on migration with the potential of creating a comprehensive agreement between the two countries. Focuses include preventing irregular migration through informational campaigns highlighting labor migration pathways. (press release, DW)
🇸🇻🇺🇸 United States and El Salvador
US policy towards El Salvador—and criticism, or lack thereof—is dominated by concerns over migration, argues Michael Shifter at El Faro, writing that “although the improved security situation could be behind a modest dip in migration in the past two years, polls show that today the economy is the principal concern of most Salvadorans… The country’s economic predicament is likely to become an increasingly important “push factor” driving Salvadoran migration to the U.S. and thus will be a growing focus of policy attention in Washington.”
🇬🇧🇵🇾 Paraguay and United Kingdom
“The British Embassy in Asunción Thursday denied local press reports that the South American country was planning to offer homes to foreign refugees not accepted in the United Kingdom,” reports Observer.
🇬🇾 Guyana
“The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Home Affairs has modernized the Immigration Department, in addition to increasing its staff to cater to the influx of Venezuelans entering the country,” reports Kaieteur News.
🇬🇹 Guatemala
“Guatemala’s congress may increase the budget and activities of its national commission for migrants (Conamigua), which assists Guatemalan migrants abroad and deportees. The agency does not have history of spending out even its small annual budgets.” (Prensa Libre; via WOLA)
Labor Migration
🇺🇸 United States
MPI proposes in a policy brief a “new employment-based visa pathway, the bridge visa, that would enable the United States to better leverage immigration to meet its labor market needs.”
The bridge visa “would allow U.S. employers across industries to sponsor foreign workers for an initial three-year period, which workers could renew once. Workers who desire only a temporary stay in the United States could return home after the three- or six-year period, and they would have the option to reenter on another bridge visa in the future, provided they complied with U.S. immigration and other laws. The visa would therefore create a pathway for circular migration, mostly unavailable in the current immigration system. Workers wishing to stay in the United States for the long term could self-sponsor for permanent residence after having renewed their bridge visa once, provided they have remained stably employed in the United States.”
Washington Post highlights which US states could most benefit from migrant labor. South Dakota and Maryland face the greatest labor shortages, with just 29 and 32 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings, respectively, while only California has more unemployed workers than job openings (117 per 100).
“Foreign-born workers took 30 percent of construction jobs in 2023. Sectors such as transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services also employ a big share of immigrants. These industries need workers: Their job opening rates by the end of last year were around or above the national average.”
Migrants in Transit
🇺🇸 United States
“More than 65% of Venezuelans (in the US) say they would return to their country if the opposition wins this year's presidential elections,” reports Bloomberg.
“Texas has spent over $148 million to bus 102,000 migrants to Democratic Party-governed cities elsewhere in the United States. That is $1,451 per bus ride. The figure comes from public records obtained by The Texas Newsroom, a public radio journalism outlet.” (via WOLA)
Borders and Enforcement
🇵🇦 Panama
Panama’s “Operation Shield” in the Darien Gap ended in December 2023, but has now been extended to July, per a press release. Panamanian officials expect more migrants to cross the Darien in 2024 than last year, which was a record year.
🇦🇷 Argentina
“Argentina’s immigration authorities have cracked down on Brazilian students who try to enter the country without a specific visa… The same has been happening with students from other Mercosur countries, such as Peru and Ecuador,” reports Folha, noting, “By blocking students, the border authorities do not exactly break the rules for the movement of people between the bloc's countries, but they signal a retreat from a permissive stance that, until now, marked this relationship on either side.”
🇺🇸 United States
“The United States on Wednesday expanded visa restrictions for transportation operators ‘facilitating irregular migration,’” building on visa restrictions introduced in November 2023 for charter flight operators providing services to migrants in transit through Nicaragua. (Reuters)
The Texas state government “has already broken ground on a new military base dedicated to housing up to 2,300 National Guard soldiers on an 80-acre campus situated just feet away from the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass,” reports The Border Chronicle, highlighting concerns and criticisms from local residents.
🇧🇷 Brazil
22 “Cuban migrants coming from French Guiana were intercepted by the (Brazilian) Federal Highway Police while they were being transported clandestinely” to the city of Macapá, reports Guyane1.
🇲🇽 Mexico