Americas Migration Brief - March 25, 2024
Welcome to the Americas Migration Brief! If you find this newsletter useful, please consider sharing with a friend or colleague.
Se puede acceder aquí a una versión en español del boletín traducida por inteligencia artificial.
Consulte aqui uma versão em português do boletim traduzida por inteligência artificial.
Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇴 Colombia
488,974 out of 2,857,528 Venezuelans in Colombia are in an irregular migratory status, as of January 31, according to a Migración Colombia report.
A Race and Equality report explores the situation of Afro-Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, including access to services and vulnerability to discrimination and violence.
A Dejusticia report explores both regulatory standards and practical barriers to irregular migrants accessing healthcare services in Colombia.
“The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a loan of $150 million and non-refundable financing of $7.5 million to improve effective access to health services for the vulnerable population in Colombia by strengthening primary health care,” with an emphasis on improving access to services for migrants. (press release)
🇪🇨 Ecuador
UNHCR highlights the impact of violence and xenophobia on access to education in Ecuador: “According to a 2023 assessment conducted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, refugees and migrants are increasingly afraid, particularly of the violence affecting young girls and boys. Many have opted to stay home, stop working or avoid sending their children to school, while others are considering moving to places they consider safer. In the past year, the number of Venezuelan children enrolled in schools in Ecuador has halved, mainly due to relocation within or outside the country for several reasons, including violence.”
In January I wrote a special edition of the AMB about the migratory implications of Ecuador’s security crisis, noting that “Venezuelans—and, to a certain extent, Colombians—that have settled in Ecuador may look to leave the country.”
🇵🇦 Panama
Panama has again extended registration—now to the end of June—for its regularization program for those “whose visas expired on or after March 13, 2020.” (Fragomen, see AMB 7/17/23 on the program’s creation)
🇨🇱 Chile
45% of Chileans are concerned about immigration in the country, the highest percentage among 29 countries surveyed globally by Ipsos. Ipsos Latam’s CEO says, “Concern about immigration control is a Chilean specificity within Latin America and this concern has been increasing in the last five months, returning to the maximum achieved in May 2023.” (BioBioChile)
A Centro de Políticas Migratorias paper reviews the data on outcomes for migrant women in Chile.
🇦🇷 Argentina
An Hola América report explores socioeconomic integration of migrant women in Argentina.
🇨🇦 Canada
“Immigration policy, once a matter of consensus within Canada, has of late provoked sharp debate… Recent polling has indicated a change in public attitudes towards immigration. A survey conducted in September 2023 by Nanos Research showed that 53% of Canadians surveyed want fewer immigrants than the Canadian government has projected… This marked a shift from only six months earlier when 34% wanted less immigration,” notes a Wilson Center paper.
Statistics Canada finds “improved labour market outcomes for recent immigrants since the mid-2010s.”
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
UNHCR published a document concerning the situation in Haiti, calling for the international community “not to forcibly return anyone to Haiti, including those who have had their asylum claims rejected or who have otherwise been found not to be in need of international protection.” Furthermore, UNHCR writes, “public order based on respect for the rule of law and human dignity has been seriously eroded in Haiti, and that accordingly Haiti should be regarded as being impacted by events seriously disturbing public order. Consequently, UNHCR considers that Haitians, or stateless persons who were habitually resident in Haiti, who are found not to meet the refugee criteria of the 1951 Convention may be eligible for international refugee protection under UNHCR’s broader mandate on the grounds of serious threats to life, physical integrity or freedom resulting from events seriously disturbing public order. Persons originating from areas controlled by gangs or where gangs exert substantial influence or areas into which gangs seek to expand, and who are found not to meet the refugee criteria of the 1951 Convention may be eligible for international refugee protection under UNHCR’s broader mandate on the grounds of serious threats to life, physical integrity or freedom resulting from generalized violence.”
The Dominican Republic has said that they will continue to deport Haitians, reports CNN. (see Borders and Enforcement below for more on regional responses)
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
“Around 119 religious and social institutions denounced the abuses, thefts and other illegal practices committed by soldiers and agents at the service of the General Directorate of Migration, in El Seibo, during an operation to arrest Haitians for deportation purposes,” reports Acento.
🇭🇹 Haiti
“Gang violence, leading to a rapid decline in security and living conditions in Port-au-Prince, is forcing a large number of people to flee and seek refuge in cities and towns throughout the provinces… in just two weeks in March, at least 33,333 individuals have fled Haiti’s capital,” reports Haitian Times, citing IOM.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Starting April 1, Costa Rica will begin limiting the opportunity to apply for asylum to just Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, with 120 daily slots permitted. Previously, 70 daily slots were available for five days a week, bringing the total number of weekly slots from 350 to now 360. Daily caps have been in place since January 2023. (Confidencial)
🇺🇾 Uruguay
“Foreign Minister Omar Paganini affirmed that he is working together with the Minister of the Interior, Nicolás Martinelli, to find a solution "as soon as possible" for the 24,193 foreigners who have their refugee application pending, and explained that the delay in this process is due to the fact that most applicants do not meet the requirements to be refugees,” reports El Observador, noting that the majority are Cubans.
The article outlines 3 potential fixes to the situation to facilitate other pathways to regularization for Cubans: (1) removing visa requirements through a bilateral agreement; (2) setting up a system to automatically shift asylum applications into residency applications for those with clean criminal records and financial means; and (3) “to generate a processing point in Guyana – the only country in South America that accepts the Cuban passport – to obtain a special one-time visa.”
The number of Uruguayans internally displaced by recent flooding has risen from 1,434 to more than 4,700. (El Observador, see last week’s AMB)
🇲🇽 Mexico
95 Ecuadorian migrants have reportedly been kidnapped in southern Mexico. (El Universal)
A three-part investigation from El Paso Matters, La Verdad, and Lighthouse Reports finds that “Previously undisclosed security camera footage – as well as court documents and exclusive interviews with survivors – show a number of safety failures and oversights that created a death trap at a Juárez migrant detention center fire a year ago this month.”
The fire killed 40 people, and “The 27 survivors are now facing lifelong health complications. They and the families of the deceased have never received adequate answers about what happened the night of the fire. To date, 11 people, including private security staff, INM officials, and two Venezuelan men who allegedly started the fire, have been criminally charged. But no trial date has been set.” (Border Chronicle)
🇨🇴 Colombia
“The Attorney General's Office announced that it will send a commission to the largest informal settlement of irregular migrants in the country, known as 'La Pista', in Maicao, La Guajira, to verify the situation and the measures adopted by national and regional entities to address the humanitarian crisis that more than 12,000 people are experiencing, including Venezuelans, returned Colombians and some belonging to the Wayú ethnic group.” (El Heraldo)
🇨🇱 Chile
SJM Chile published a report on the state of international protection and migration in Chile and a separate report for the UN about migration and refuge in the country.
🇺🇸 United States
No More Deaths has launched a database documenting “the last 15 years of migrant deaths along the US/Mexico border in CBP’s El Paso Sector, which includes El Paso and all of New Mexico,” finding that the true number of deaths is far greater than that reported by CBP and that “15% of migrant deaths were caused by use of force, wall falls, chases, and deaths in custody.” (see also the report, executive summary, and Twitter thread)
The Biden administration has reached a deal with Republicans in the House to expand the number of resettlement visas for Afghans who worked for the US by 12,000—Biden had initially sought an expansion of 20,000 visas. (Reuters)
“A new memo from Human Rights First cited several cases of migrants, from China, Venezuela, Egypt, and Ecuador, who faced strong examples of persecution but, now that credible fear standards have been raised, failed to clear the screening and were ordered deported.” (via WOLA)
Congress has passed legislation to expand and facilitate refugee labor mobility. (Talent Beyond Boundaries)
National Immigration Forum outlines “Six Actionable Recommendations to Improve Safety and Wellbeing for Asylum-Seeking Families in the Context of the Biden Administration’s Fast-Tracked Deportations”
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, explaining that the 2024 Homeland Security appropriation includes “double-digit-percentage increases in budgets for border security agencies, including new CBP and Border Patrol hires, as well as for migrant detention. The bill has no money for border wall construction, and cuts grants to shelters receiving people released from Border Patrol custody.”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis said of expanding to full free movement in Caricom last week, “Let me categorically state that we have not fully committed to the free movement proposal being discussed. Movement of people is managed, and we are currently in the process of reviewing information to ensure it aligns with our national interests.” (SKNVibes, see last week’s AMB)
Mixed Migration Centre surveyed migrants in Colombia and Costa Rica, finding, “There is a general lack of knowledge about the Safe Mobility Offices among the surveyed migrants heading to the United States. Six out of ten respondents had not heard about the initiative (121 out of 204). The primary information sources of the surveyed migrants who have heard about the Safe Mobility Offices are non-official channels (friends, family, and other migrants). Just 5% of surveyed migrants had heard about the SMOs from the UN and NGOs, and no one from governmental institutions.”
Of those that knew of the program and had not applied, 90% said they were not interested in submitting a request at an SMO and 74% of these migrants said so because of “Appointments delayed / not enough time to wait for process/response.” Note that almost all respondents were technically ineligible for SMO processing because of entering Costa Rica or Colombia after the eligibility cutoff date; however, the survey is non-representative and includes border regions, which may be an explanatory factor.
Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis have signed an MoU to cooperate more closely on their citizenship by investment programs (CIP), including in terms of pricing, information sharing and transparency standards, regulation, security screening, and marketing and promotion of standards. St. Lucia is the only Caribbean country with CIP to not take part in the agreement, reports IMI.
🇻🇪🇲🇽 Mexico and Venezuela
Mexico and Venezuela have reached a deal to deport Venezuelan nationals through the Vuelta a la Patria program. The deal includes six months of $110 monthly payments to the migrants, modeled similarly to the Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro and Sembrando Vida programs Mexico runs. Companies such as Pdvsa, Femsa, and Bimbo have reportedly signed on to help provide returnees with jobs. (El Pitazo, El País)
“The same repatriation agreement signed with Venezuela… is already being implemented with Guatemala and Honduras and work is being done on something similar to return Colombians and Ecuadorians,” reports El País.
🇬🇹🇺🇸 United States and Guatemala
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas met with Guatemalan president Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala last week to discuss migration, and Arévalo will now travel to the US to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris this week. (Prensa Libre)
Labor Migration
🇲🇽 Mexico
“As its workers stream to the U.S., Mexico runs short of farmhands… In a once-unthinkable move, Mexican farmers are now calling for a major guest-worker program of their own. The government is taking the first step, planning to soon open a database of 14,000 jobs in agriculture and other sectors to non-Mexicans,” reports Washington Post.
🇨🇦 Canada
“During the pandemic, Canada unleashed a series of temporary measures to help ease labour market conditions. Now, however, Canada has begun to undo these temporary measures,” reports CIC News, noting, for example, that “Low-wage workers that applied through the (Temporary Foreign Worker Program) must comprise no more than 20% of a Canadian business’ workforce. In 2022, as a temporary measure and only for certain sectors, Canada increased that cap to 30%. As of May 1st 2024, only the construction and health care sectors will be allowed to have up to 30% of their workforce on low-wage TFWP work permits.”
Migrants in Transit
🇵🇦 Panama
An increase in migration and lack of capacity to respond is “very likely” during the summer, according to a Red Cross report looking at migration scenarios in Panama’s Chiriqui province near Costa Rica in 2024. (LinkedIn)
🇨🇺 Cuba
65,978 Cubans migrated internally in 2022, reports CubaNoticias360, highlighting internal displacement and urbanization in the country.
Borders and Enforcement
🇺🇸 United States
“Hours after the Supreme Court gave Texas officials permission to jail and prosecute migrants suspected of crossing the U.S. southern border without authorization, an appeals court late Tuesday blocked the state from enforcing its controversial immigration law known as SB4,” reports CBS; the law is deemed unconstitutional by the Biden administration. The back and forth created confusion among local law enforcement, reports New York Times.
Steve Vladek breaks down the legal, technical details of the back and forth at One First.
At least 7 other Republican-led states have looked to follow Texas’ lead with SB4, says New York Times.
SB4 has been strongly rejected by neighboring countries, with Honduras speaking out against the policy and Mexico filing an amicus curiae brief against the policy and saying it will not accept any deportations from Texas. (Mexico press release, New York Times, El Ciudadano)
“A group of Florida Republicans is asking President Biden to allow the Navy to conduct maritime interdictions and interceptions of migrants fleeing from Haiti amid the unfolding chaos in the country,” reports The Hill.
“Despite the recent increase in violence and political turmoil in Haiti, the U.S. has not yet seen a spike in maritime migration in the Caribbean Sea that would trigger longstanding contingency plans that include housing migrants at Guantanamo Bay,” according to two US officials that spoke with CBS.
🇧🇸 The Bahamas
The Bahamas will maintain its blockade against Haitian migrants, citing four recent instances of maritime apprehensions of Haitians. (Magnetic Media, see last week’s AMB)
🇹🇨 Turks and Caicos
“TCI Police intercept 95 irregular migrants, issue safety warning” (Loop)
🇨🇦 Canada
“All 10 of Canada's provinces have now committed to ending their immigration detention agreements and arrangements with the Canada Border Services Agency… Newfoundland and Labrador, the last remaining province, has now confirmed that it will no longer allow the federal government to detain migrants and asylum seekers in local jails,” say Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, calling for alternatives to detention at a federal level.
🇭🇳 Honduras
As of March 22, Honduras has removed the pre-check requirement for Nicaraguans looking to enter the country, reports HRN. Both countries take part in the CA-4 free movement regime.
More on Migration
🌎 Regional
“Latin American immigration and refugee policies: a critical literature review” (Comparative Migration Studies)