Americas Migration Brief - June 23, 2025
The AMB will be on hiatus until July 14th. I’m getting married!
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇴 Colombia
An NRC report based on interviews of 200 young refugees, migrants, and persons of their host communities in Colombia finds that many struggle to find decent work. “30 out of 100 young refugees and migrants feel their nationality leads to exclusion from employment. Furthermore, 40 out of 100 state they cannot practise their professions or technical studies because they cannot find ways to continue their education or validate their qualifications in the country,” per a press release.
🇲🇽 Mexico
Asylum seekers in southern Mexico have trouble obtaining documentation and formal employment, limiting economic opportunity and socioeconomic integration, reports Diario del Sur.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Bloomberg highlights the recent increase in Cuban migration to southern Brazil, and the new lives these asylum seekers and refugees are undertaking. (see also AMB 5/19/25)
🇺🇸 United States
“For the first time in over four decades, the constitutional protections guaranteeing undocumented immigrant children the right to attend public school are facing a coordinated and credible threat. Since early 2025, lawmakers in six states have introduced legislation aimed at restricting or denying public education to undocumented immigrant children—measures that, if enacted, would almost certainly trigger legal challenges with the potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court,” explains Niskanen.
“The indiscriminate nature of (the Trump administration’s) immigration enforcement is undoubtedly already having adverse consequences on the health of immigrants, their children, and the broader community. Early surveys suggest that the current climate is already showing a chilling effect on health-care access that will likely depress the participation of U.S.-born children in mixed-status households in health and nutritional programs,” notes MPI.
“A group of more than 40 U.S. senators is urging the Trump administration to resume processing new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, citing a recent federal court ruling that narrows an earlier nationwide injunction,” reports Migrant Insider.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
“On World Refugee Day, Amnesty International urgently calls on states in the Americas to protect, not punish, people seeking safety. States must immediately restore access to asylum, reverse discriminatory policies and uphold their obligations under international law.” (statement)
A UN report explores international case law on the protection of rights of those in the context of mobility.
🇸🇻 El Salvador
In El Salvador, president Nayib Bukele’s “escalating crackdown on critics has accelerated an exodus of civil society: In recent weeks, dozens of academics, lawyers, researchers, human rights defenders and journalists have fled the country, reports the Washington Post,” explains Jordana Timerman at Latin America Daily Briefing.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 16 other international organizations in a joint statement warning about the swift deterioration in press freedom in El Salvador, after at least 40 journalists have had to leave the country due to a sustained pattern of harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary restrictions on their work.” (via LADB)
🇪🇨 Ecuador
A UNHCR report explores forced displacement in Ecuador, examining protection needs and noting an increase of 35% in asylum applications by Colombian nationals in 2024—the highest figure in a decade. Furthermore, UNHCR and the Ombudsman’s Office have estimated that 150,000 Ecuadorian families (or 300,000 individuals) have been internally displaced by violence between 2022 and 2024.
🇨🇱 Chile
“Between 2018 and 2024, access to asylum in Chile has been severely restricted. Of 23,232 asylum applications, only 2.5% were granted,” explains Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), outlining recommendations to improve access to protection in Chile, including “strengthening resettlement and community sponsorship programs, as well as creating or expanding complementary pathways such as humanitarian, labor, educational, or family reunification visas.”
A Venezuelan woman was killed in Chile in an alleged hate crime over an argument about music volume, with the perpetrators reportedly shouting xenophobic insults, per El Tiempo.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Costa Rica received 8,353 asylum requests in the first quarter of 2025, but approved only 236. By contrast, the country received 4,943 requests and approved 311 during the same period last year, reports Diario Extra. (see also AMB 5/12/25 on recent UNHCR funding cuts)
A Nicaraguan exile was assassinated in Costa Rica, yet another case of transnational repression by the Ortega regime targeting refugees in the neighboring country. Nicaraguan opposition leaders have called for greater protection by the international community for Nicaraguan refugees. (Artículo 66, RFI)
🇬🇹 Guatemala
“Guatemala has experienced a notable rise in the number of individuals seeking international protection, increasing from an average of 500 applications before 2021 to a historic peak of 1,879 applications in 2024,” mainly from other Central American countries, explains a UNHCR brief. Even still, “advancements have led to a 61% refugee recognition rate in 2024 and significantly reduced overall case processing times.”
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
Guardian highlights contributions of UNHCR for asylum seekers and refugees in Trinidad and Tobago now that the agency is closing its office in the country due to funding cuts—25,000 asylum seekers will reportedly be directly affected. (see AMB 6/9/25)
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“When asked if the D.R. should accept more refugees into the country, 92% of Dominicans responded ‘no,’” per a CID Gallup poll.
🇲🇽 Mexico
A UNHCR protection monitoring report finds that 58% of migrants surveyed suffered a security-related incident in transit before arriving to Mexico, and 40% suffered such an incident while in Mexico.
🇺🇸 United States
A man shot two Latino men “because of his ‘anger at illegal immigration,’” reports ABC, noting that he admitted that he “fantasized about flying an Apache helicopter gunship to the border and firing on undocumented migrants traveling into the United States.”
“The United States is considering restricting entry to citizens of an additional 36 countries in what would be a significant expansion of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration early this month,” reports Washington Post. Among the 36, countries from the Americas include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. (see AMB 6/9/25)
“In April, immigration judges set two alarming records by closing over 11,000 asylum cases and denying 80% of them in a single month. An avalanche of asylum denials is just beginning,” says Austin Kocher at his Substack. (see also El País)
“After El Paso joined Abbott’s border crackdown, the number of dead migrants in the New Mexico desert surged” (Texas Tribune)
“Q&A: Why Challenging the Trump Administration’s Ban on Refugee Resettlement Is So Important” (Refugees International)
AP reports on conditions at Texas immigration detention facilities, including limited access to water and medical assistance.
“The Trump administration is often most shocking when it disregards rights many Americans have blithely assumed to be universal. Of course you can’t be punished for writing an opinion essay, because the United States has freedom of speech — except the Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk was arrested by masked agents in broad daylight after adding her name to an opinion essay for the student paper. Of course you can’t be imprisoned indefinitely or banished without trial, because the United States guarantees due process of law — except that the administration did just that to more than 200 Venezuelan men this spring. Of course law enforcement can’t tear-gas you for protesting an immigration operation. Of course the military and the National Guard can’t be deployed to your street when your local authorities say the situation is under control. It’s not a coincidence that all of these shocks to the conscience are tied to President Trump’s efforts to carry out a mass deportation immigration agenda,” writes Dara Lind at The New York Times.
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, noting, “While migration at the U.S.-Mexico border remains near 60-year lows, data reported by CBP shows that migrant encounters in May increased slightly over March and April. Apprehensions of unaccompanied minors grew by more than a quarter.”
🇨🇦 Canada
A coalition of 300 civil society groups are denouncing the recently proposed Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2) “which critics say, if passed, would restrict access to asylum, expand surveillance of migrants and citizens alike, and open the door to more information and data sharing with the U.S., among a slew of other changes to control and monitor the movement of people and goods at the border,” reports Toronto Star. (see AMB 6/9/25)
The civil society groups “accuse the government of trying to ram through the changes by burying the controversial parts and limiting scrutiny via a complex omnibus bill.”
“In a new notice posted on its website, Canada’s Immigration Department tried to offer some clarity to Bill C-2 to address critics’ concerns. It said the proposed rules on asylum eligibility would only apply to refugee claims made on or after June 3, 2025, by anyone who first arrived in Canada after June 24, 2020, and wouldn’t be retroactive to those who already had a claim in the system before Bill C-2 was (introduced).”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
Ecuador and Peru are considering sending foreign-born criminal detainees to El Salvador’s prisons, following in the footsteps of the Trump administration, reports Washington Post—although many of those sent by the US were not criminals (see AMB 4/14/25).
“Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed to US President Donald Trump that the two countries sign a "general agreement" on security, migration, and trade, including benefits for Mexicans living in the US,” reports El País.
“The Mexican government has urged the United States to hand over all information regarding the death of a Mexican immigrant who was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” reports Aztec Reports.
In response to claims from the US government of Cuba human trafficking health care workers across the Caribbean, the Bahamas is planning to cancel contracts with Cuban healthcare professionals, reports Reuters, noting that the country will instead look to sign direct employment contracts independent of the Cuban state. “Currently, there are only 35 Cuban healthcare professionals in the Bahamas… The Bahamas faces a shortage of local healthcare professionals.” (see also AMB 3/17/25)
“The Trump administration planned to send over 9,000 migrants to Guantánamo Bay, but those plans have been paused, reportedly in response to the immigration protests in Los Angeles. This group of potential deportees included over 800 European nationals from U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France, and Germany, prompting sharp diplomatic backlash from their governments,” explains CEDA’s US-Cuba News Brief. (see also last week’s AMB)
🇩🇴🇸🇽 Sint Maarten and Dominican Republic
Sint Maarten and the Dominican Republic officials met “to discuss enhanced collaboration in combating human trafficking and smuggling and protecting those vulnerably at risk within migrant communities,” establishing a “strategic partnership.” (press release)
🇮🇩🇬🇹 Guatemala and Indonesia
Guatemalan and Indonesian officials met to discuss migration and best practices for the protection of labor migrants and the reintegration of returnees. (AGN)
Labor Migration
🇪🇨 Ecuador
“Around 120 Ecuadorian farmers will be part of the circular migration program between Ecuador and Spain,” reports EFE.
🇧🇲 Bermuda
“The Bermuda Department of Immigration has released a revised draft of its Work Permit Policy 2025 for public consultation. The revisions are intended to create a more transparent and efficient work permit system that supports Bermuda’s dual goals of prioritizing employment for Bermudians while facilitating access to qualified international talent,” explains Fragomen.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
Challenges facing return migrants heading south through Panama include limited resources to help those without the means to continue travel. “Aid groups fear the daily rate of 40 to 100 asylum seekers and migrants arriving in Miramar and Palenque could soar in the coming months: Migrants they are assisting say thousands more are stranded in countries further north, trying to make enough money to continue their journeys south,” reports The New Humanitarian.
An R4V report explores movement of Venezuelan migrants across Latin America and the Caribbean in the first quarter of 2025.
An Ayuda en Acción report “delves into the factors that hinder human mobility: structural poverty, family responsibilities, life stages, lack of documentation, and previous traumatic experiences. Although the desire to migrate exists, these conditions prevent it for a large part of the population. In Latin American countries, the segment that aspires to migrate, but has not yet been able to do so, is around half. In Colombia, it stands at 45%, in Mexico, 44%, and in Ecuador, 43%,” per a news release.
Borders and Enforcement
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is building a new section of its ongoing border wall with Haiti in the northern province of Dajabón. (AFP)
🇲🇽 Mexico
“During the first four months of 2025, Mexico recorded a 77% drop in the detention of people with irregular immigration status compared to the same period last year,” reports Infobae.
“A total of 252 Venezuelan migrants were repatriated to Venezuela this Thursday, June 19, on a flight from Mexico, the 34th to land in the country since February 2025,” reports El Pitazo.
The Venezuelan government claims these are voluntary returns through the Return to the Homeland Plan. However, they have looked to categorize essentially all returns (and deportations) as part of the initiative, so it is hard to accurately categorize these flights and the nature of migrants’ agency based on public reporting alone.
🇺🇸 United States
Despite recently signalling a halt on immigration raids at farms, hotels, and restaurants, the Trump administration has reversed course on the move, reports Washington Post (see last week’s AMB). As well, Semafor interviewed border czar Tom Homan, reporting, “The Trump administration is planning to ramp up civil and criminal prosecutions of companies that employ workers without legal status.”
CATO’s Alex Nowrasteh says, “(Trump) doesn't like immigration, and he's a committed enforcer of immigration laws. Thus, any announcement that he'll pull back or otherwise liberalize is simply not true. This rule of thumb holds every time except when the courts force him to pause.” However, Nowrasteh predicts that Stephen Miller leaving the White House would be an actual signal of policy change. (Substack)
For its part, Axios says, “Trump, in private, is clearly wrestling with the political realities of long-time workers who paid taxes and committed no crimes (after coming here illegally) getting deported by the millions… Some Republican lawmakers and activists tell Axios they believe the debate over immigration enforcement is far from over.” In addition, “Axios reporters are hearing about low morale within ICE.”
“The number of people booked into immigration detention who have been charged only with immigration violations has jumped eight-fold since President Donald Trump took office, government data shows, undercutting his anti-crime message,” reports Reuters.
Cato notes that since the start of the fiscal year on October 1, 2024, 65% of ICE apprehensions have no convictions, and 93% have no violent convictions.
“56,397 People Now Detained by ICE, Possibly Highest in History” (Austin Kocher)
“A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from forcing 20 Democratic-led states to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transportation grant funding,” reports Reuters.
“President Trump's immigration crackdown is burning through cash so quickly that the agency charged with arresting, detaining and removing unauthorized immigrants could run out of money next month… ICE is already $1 billion over budget by one estimate,” reports Axios.
“A data broker owned by the country’s major airlines, including Delta, American Airlines, and United, collected U.S. travellers’ domestic flight records, sold access to them to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and then as part of the contract told CBP to not reveal where the data came from,” reports 404 Media.
“ICE Operations Surge in Puerto Rico: Immigrant Detentions Multiply Fivefold Under Trump” (CPI)
“Four years after Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas would be the first state to build its own border wall, lawmakers have quietly stopped funding the project, leaving only scattered segments covering a small fraction of the border… Just 8% of the 805 miles the state identified for construction is complete, which has cost taxpayers more than $3 billion to date,” reports Texas Tribune.
The Trump Administration is suing over a 2020 New York state law barring ICE From courthouses. (New York Times)
MPI examines the Trump administration’s efforts to promote “self-deportation,” noting, “Though new to the United States, policies paying noncitizens to voluntary depart have a long history in many parts of the world—with varying degrees of success. Studies have shown that most programs do not live up to policymakers’ expectations, with far fewer people opting to depart than anticipated.”
“What the data really says about Iranians at the southern border” (Niskanen)
🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands
The government of the British Virgin Islands is building its first formal Immigration Detention Centre, meant to hold individuals temporarily, reports Observer, noting the previous use of “improvised facilities.”