Americas Migration Brief - July 8, 2024
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇪🇨 Ecuador
“More than 40,000 Venezuelan citizens have reportedly been unable to access the Virte visa in Ecuador due to lack of documents,” meaning they will not have access to Ecuador’s new regularization of Venezuelan migrants, reports El Universo. 90,924 Venezuelans had been successfully regularized under the Virte mechanism. (see last week’s AMB)
🇨🇴 Colombia
The mayor of Bucaramanga evicted a group of Indigenous Venezuelan migrants that had camped out in one of the city’s parks, conducting what he called a “humanitarian transfer” to send them back to Venezuela, reports Infobae.
Just 55% of Venezuelans registered under the PPT are affiliated with the Sisbén system, which “classifies the living conditions of households and specifically identifies which dimensions of well-being show vulnerabilities: the conditions of children and youth, education, health, work and income, housing, and access to public services,” reports Proyecto Venezuela. Affiliation is key for access to social assistance programs.
A Journal of Politics paper surveying Colombian citizens and Venezuelan migrants in the country finds that “Colombians view Venezuelan migrants as left-wing even though actual Venezuelan migrants are more right-wing than their Colombian hosts… (and) that Colombians oppose the settlement of left-wing migrants in their communities, and political views matter more than race, skill, or humanitarian need.”
🇺🇾 Uruguay
IDB is providing funds to support “access to quality care in educational settings for students with disabilities and dependency, including migrant children. (press release)
🇦🇷 Argentina
The 2023 National Migration Survey was published, with findings including that 93% of surveyed migrants reported having a national id card (DNI) and that 47% reported having experienced discrimination for being a migrant (a figure which rises to 72% for afro-descendent migrants and 60% for Indigenous migrants).
🇵🇪Peru
A Frontiers paper exploring food insecurity (FI) reporting from the ENPOVE 2022 survey of Venezuelan migrants in Peru finds that “39.0% of Venezuelan immigrant households in Peru experienced moderate–severe FI.”
🇨🇱 Chile
The Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM) published its 2023 annual report on migration statistics in Chile, covering topics such as employment, access to health and education, protection and humanitarian concerns, and border and visas numbers.
🇺🇸 United States
Immigrants make up almost 1 in 7 of the US population but contribute almost 1 of every 6 tax dollars collected in the country. Immigration Impact highlights their contributions to the healthcare, agriculture, construction, and entrepreneurship and innovation sectors. “As of 2022, an estimated 21.6% of immigrants living in the United States are undocumented,” in an irregular immigration status.
A Cato policy analysis investigating the relationships between migrants and crime in Texas finds that irregular migrants are “26 percent less likely than native-born Americans to be convicted of homicide, and (regular) immigrants were 61 percent less likely… The conviction and arrest rates of (irregular) and (regular) immigrants, separately and together, were lower than those of native-born Americans for homicide and all crimes in Texas during the 2013–2022 period.”
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
An IOM situation report reviews the impacts of Category 4 Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean, which wreaked havoc and caused widespread damage: “On July 2, about 400 people were in evacuation centers in Grenada, peaking at 3,000 during the storm,” while in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, “Approximately 1,750 people are currently housed in 71 public evacuation centers across the islands.” In Jamaica, at least 1,876 people including 113 children are staying in shelters, according to a UNICEF situation report. Other countries affected include Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Venezuela, the Cayman Islands, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and the US.
🇨🇱 Chile
Another migrant was found dead at the Chile-Bolivia border, the ninth such case this year. (BioBioChile)
El Mostrador highlights the challenges faced by migrant children crossing the desert border from Bolivia into Chile, explaining that “Chile does not have any specialized protection model for migrant children.”
🇭🇹 Haiti
“The number of internally displaced children in Haiti has increased by an estimated 60 per cent since March – the equivalent of one child every minute – a result of ongoing violence caused by armed groups,” reports UNICEF.
🇧🇷 Brazil
A Brazilian Federal Court preliminary injunction has suspended an October 2023 move to restrict access to the humanitarian visa for Afghans, reports MigraMundo. The decision relates to one individual’s case, but “may serve as a reference for other requests while the current ordinance is not fully regulated.”
Brazil’s Senate is considering a bill to create a National Policy for Internal Displacement, introduced in response to floods that displaced nearly 600,000 in the south of the country earlier this year. (Agência Brasil)
388,781 remain internally displaced, according to official statistics from June 24. IOM is helping set up Humanitarian Reception Centres to provide shelter for 2,400 people from the cities of Porto Alegre and Canoas, per a press release.
🇵🇦 Panama
A UNHCR report presents findings from the agency’s monthly protection monitoring assessments in the Darien Gap between July 2022 and April 2024. Findings include that “Half of the Venezuelans came directly from their country, while the other half came from other countries of residence, mainly Colombia (26%) and Peru (11%).” Leading reasons for leaving one’s country of origin included “Lack of employment / low income” (72%) and “General situation of violence/insecurity” (48%).
🇨🇴 Colombia
“Beyond the armed violence that has marked Colombia's recent history, domestic violence is a silent cause of internal displacement that deserves our attention and action,” explains El Espectador.
🇺🇸 United States
A CGO working paper analyzes migrant deaths before and after the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (SFA), finding a “substantial increase” in deaths following the Act and that “the SFA did not entirely deter migration but induced migrants to take alternative, more dangerous routes.”
“Under increasing pressure to migrate, more women are dying at the US-Mexico border. Historically, men made up the majority of those dying in the border desert. But the balance is shifting.” (The 19th)
“Asylum Seeker Requests Civil Rights Investigation Of Unlawful Deportation Under Biden Expedited Removal Policy” (National Immigration Justice Center)
🇨🇦 Canada
“The ever-growing administrative burdens that refugee sponsors face when applying to the renowned Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program are an increasing concern to those who make the program work… the application process for sponsors has become overly complex, resource intensive, and time-consuming,” explains Policy Options, arguing, “the program is at risk of drifting away from its original objective: to engage civil society in refugee resettlement.”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
Caricom member states are gathering for a workshop this week in Trinidad and Tobago, “(marking) a significant stride in the development of a common regional policy to strategically leverage migration as a development tool for the Caribbean Community,” per Caribbean News Service.
A group of US legislators “launched a new congressional caucus which aims to find effective, long-term solutions to humanely address irregular and forced migration around the world.” (press release)
Some in the Caribbean Netherlands are looking for the Netherlands to “establish new legal frameworks within which the BES islands themselves can have more control over labour and knowledge migration,” reports Ruetir.
“The City of San Antonio hosted a Sister Cities International All Americas Summit, bringing together elected officials, citizen diplomats, and other key stakeholders from 35 countries across the Western Hemisphere and promoting city-to-city partnership on key issues like migration, cultural exchange, and more.” (Mayor’s Migration Council)
🇨🇴🇺🇸🇵🇦 Panama-United States-Colombia
Following the inauguration of José Raúl Mulino as Panama’s new president, the US and Panama signed an agreement to address irregular migration through the Darien Gap with US funding. Under the agreement, the US will “support training and capacity building to strengthen and institutionalize safe, humane repatriation processes in Panama,” paying for deportation flights for some migrants that cross the Darien. (press release, Latin America Daily Briefing)
“Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. Homeland Security teams on the ground in Panama would help the government there train personnel and build up its own expertise and ability to determine which migrants, under Panama’s immigration laws, could be removed from the country, reports the Associated Press.” (via Latin America Daily Briefing)
DW highlights skepticism about the speed with which Panama will be able to begin deportations, noting a lack of necessary infrastructure and logistical challenges. The flights will begin “in the coming weeks,” according to a US official cited by Reuters.
The externalization of US border enforcement is not a new practice, explains Pirate Wire Services.
Panama’s new president also agreed to address Darien Gap migration issues with Colombia, including to improve dialogue with Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities near the border region and to set up a trilateral meeting between Panama, Colombia, and the US to discuss the Darien Gap. (press release)
🇭🇳🇵🇦 Panama and Honduras
The presidents of Panama and Honduras met to discuss irregular migration across the hemisphere, among other topics. (En Segundos)
🇭🇳🇸🇻 El Salvador and Honduras
Salvadoran and Honduran officials met to discuss migration, as El Salvador is looking to potentially launch a pilot labor mobility program to recruit Honduran workers for the Salvadoran labor market, particularly in the construction sector. (Poder Popular)
🇵🇪🇪🇨 Ecuador and Peru
The presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation on migration, among other topics, reports EFE, noting, “both Ministries of the Interior will strengthen joint operations on the border and promote the neutralization of illegal migration crossings.”
🇭🇳🇬🇹 Guatemala and Honduras
The presidents of Guatemala and Honduras met to discuss migration, among other topics. (France24)
🇸🇻 El Salvador
El Salvador launched its National Implementation Plan for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), “the first of its kind in the region,” according to the UN.
Labor Migration
🇪🇨 Ecuador
Germany and Ecuador are expanding the “Partnerships for Vocational Training and Development-Oriented Labour Migration (PAM)” program, which “offers young people technical and linguistic training in Ecuador, followed by academic training and paid internships in Germany.” (El Comercio)
🇨🇴 Colombia
Colombia’s Migración Colombia and Ministry of Labor are currently working on the development of a circular migration visa, with the foreign minister highlighting both Venezuelan and Ecuadorian temporary, circular migration in a press conference. (El Pitazo)
🇯🇲 Jamaica
Jamaica should look to engage the diaspora for circular return migration to contribute to labor needs and development, argues Kayonne Christy at The Gleaner.
Last month, I wrote a special edition of the AMB about potential avenues for addressing key labor needs in the educational and healthcare sectors in the Caribbean, highlighting the opportunity of Global Skills Partnerships, teaching abroad fellowships, and travel work programs—the latter two of which provide synergies with the idea of circular return migration.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
“A new air bridge between Venezuela and China could drive Asian migration to the U.S. through Nicaragua” (La Prensa)
A PONARS Eurasia policy memo explores recent Russian migration to Latin America, explaining, “Undoubtedly, what makes Latin American countries attractive to new Russian migrants is their visa-free regimes. By 2019, the Russian Federation had visa-free agreements with all the countries in the region… Among the most popular countries in Latin America for Russians are Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.” The memo also explores their integration through a survey of 271 respondents.
🇺🇸 United States
“Illegal crossings along the U.S. southern border fell to a 3-year low in June following President Biden's drastic move to curtail asylum and continued efforts by Mexico to stop migrants heading north,” reports CBS.
“The Mexican and U.S. governments boast about the decline in immigration arrests on their common border, but this reality contrasts with Mexico's southern border, where encounters of irregular migrants have tripled in Chiapas,” says SwissInfo.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Some migrants hoping to go to the US are taking a “wait-and-see” approach, reports AP, highlighting migrants waiting in the state of Acre, in the Brazilian Amazon, and local capacity struggles.
🇵🇪 Peru
Venezuelan migrants attempting to enter Peru from Chile were “surprised” by the newly expanded visa restrictions, leaving some “stranded,” reports La República. 20 people have been stranded, according to Rostros Venezolanos. (see last week’s AMB)
“The Peruvian Ombudsman's Office has formally requested that Migration again allow humanitarian exceptions for entry for Venezuelan minors, pregnant women and older adults,” reports Rostros Venezolanos.
Borders and Enforcement
🇵🇦 Panama
The Panamanian government has set up barbed wire and barricades to block off migration paths through the Darien Gap, bordering Colombia. (La Estrella de Panamá, EFE, Red+)
The move sparked concern for Colombia’s Ombudsman for its impact on increasing protection issues for migrants, while the director of Colombia’s migration agency said that the move was unilateral and not agreed upon between the two countries and would “generate serious consequences for communities, and especially for migrants.”
(El Tiempo, La Razón)Deterrence efforts in the Darien may cause some migrants to “try to evade authorities and remain in Panama instead of continuing north to the US,” says Americas Quarterly, explaining, “Panama’s relative economic strength may make it an attractive destination to migrants who may consider Panama a more realistic destination due to increased deterrence and concomitant costs throughout Central America and Mexico.”
🇺🇸 United States
“The United States sent a group of migrants back to China on the first large deportation flight there since 2018, and said on Tuesday that it was working with Chinese authorities to arrange additional flights,” reports New York Times.
More on Migration
🇻🇪 Venezuela
Cryptocurrency is becoming a growing method of remittance-sending for Venezuelan migrants and “likely reached a record 9% of all the money sent home last year, according to data from the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis,” reports Bloomberg.