Americas Migration Brief - March 3, 2025
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🌎 Regional
CLACSO explores anti-immigrant discourse in the Andean region, calling for greater engagement with media and communication sources to reduce the spread of xenophobic narratives and for educational programs in schools to promote diversity, respect, and tolerance.
An International Migration Review paper explores access to social policies and welfare for immigrants in Argentina and Chile, finding that “immigrants’ barriers to accessing social policy depend on political elites’ views—as policies are expanded, policymakers will lower access barriers for universal policies, while they will raise more hurdles for targeted policies. This is because public officials view universal policies as “social rights” that include immigrants, while they view targeted policies as “costs” that must be contained.”
🇺🇾 Uruguay
More than 2,000 applications have been initiated for residency “by rootedness” (arraigo), a regularization program introduced last year to provide status for those with rejected asylum cases. (press release; see AMB 5/20/24)
🇧🇷 Brazil
João Carlos Jarochinski Silva writes at Washington Brazil Office about how Brazil’s Operation Welcome to receive Venezuelan migrants has succeeded as a state policy across ideologically diverse administrations, noting the important role of the armed forces in implementing the initiative and of the business sector in supporting immigration.
🇨🇱 Chile
El Diario reviews various prospective candidates’ perspectives on migration policy ahead of Chile’s presidential elections in November.
The former head of migration under the second Bachelet government, Rodrigo Sandoval Ducoing, tells El País that Chile lacks an effective migration policy that considers the integration and “belonging” of immigrants in the country. Instead, he says, recent years have seen “an exclusively security-based perspective.”
A UNICEF report explores the characteristics and integration of migrant children in various Chilean regions.
🇨🇴 Colombia
An IOM report explores the labor market participation of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.
🇺🇸 United States
“New data analysis by the American Immigration Council shows how immigrants are contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, even as the Trump administration and Congress are pushing for a budget that includes unprecedented funding for mass detention and deportation.” (press release)
The US has never had an official language, but a March 1 executive order has now declared English the country’s official language. “The order is expected to be largely symbolic but would be the biggest victory yet for the country’s English-only movement, which has long been tied to efforts to restrict bilingual education and reduce immigration to the United States,” reports The New York Times.
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
Researching Internal Displacement reviews violence-induced displacement in Northern Central America, noting, “As of 2024, at least 318,600 people were internally displaced just in El Salvador and Honduras… by adopting displacement-specific laws, Honduras and El Salvador have been better able to tailor the protection and assistance response towards the needs of displacement-affected people. Given resource scarcities in each country, the frameworks also usefully prioritise interventions based on needs within those populations. In both countries, UNHCR – the UN refugee agency – played an important role in supporting the development of this response.”
🇺🇾 Uruguay
A first group of Venezuelan citizens were granted accelerated prima facie refugee status in Uruguay under a program introduced last year. (press release; see AMB 6/3/24)
🇸🇻 El Salvador
El Salvador lacks a law to regulate and combat human trafficking, highlights La Prensa.
🇺🇸 United States
“A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order implementing an indefinite “pause” on refugee admissions to the United States,” reports Politico. Advocates have celebrated the ruling (see IRAP)
“Following an emergency hearing on February 25, a federal court in Washington, D.C., ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in foreign assistance by midnight on February 26… Shortly before midnight on February 26, Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court granted the government’s last-minute request to temporarily pause the federal court’s February 25 order,” says HIAS, explaining, “The stop-work orders and suspension of foreign assistance have had a devastating impact on HIAS’ work and that of the entire humanitarian sector.”
WOLA’s Adam Isacson highlights stories related to the US-Mexico border and human rights at the Weekly Border Update, noting, “The Trump administration sent 17 more undocumented migrants to the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station, just 3 days after removing to Venezuela all who had been at the base for up to 16 days. Those released from the facility told of horrific and abusive conditions.” (see also ProPublica, Washington Post)
🇨🇦 Canada
“About 11,840 people filed refugee claims in Canada in January, down from a high of 19,821 in July… This was the lowest monthly figure since September 2023,” reports Reuters, linking the drop in applications to greater restrictions on visitors visas.
A Journal of Refugee Studies paper based on a 2021 survey finds that a majority of Canadians support access to asylum whether it be via resettlement or from spontaneous applications.
“Palestinian families are suing the Canadian government over delays in the issuance of visas meant to allow them to escape Israel’s deadly war in Gaza and receive temporary protection in Canada,” reports Al Jazeera, noting that the special Gaza visa program was launched in January 2024 for reunification of extended family, but “has been plagued by inefficiencies.”
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
“The long talked about free movement in CARICOM will encompass minimum guarantees on primary and secondary education and emergency and primary health care,” reports Stabroek News, citing a CARICOM communique from the bloc’s heads of government conference that notes “With respect to the free movement of people, the Conference agreed that Member States that have not yet done so, should sign and ratify the Protocol on Enhanced Cooperation by 31 March to enable Member States that are willing to move ahead with free movement to do so by 1 June 2025.” (see last week’s AMB and a July 2023 special edition of the AMB on the subject)
Barbados Foreign Affairs Minister Kerrie Symmonds criticized a lack of consideration of mutual accreditation agreements to ensure recognition of professional degrees and licenses across countries. (Barbados Today)
Multiple regional leaders met on the sidelines of Uruguayan president Yamandú Orsi’s inauguration in various bilateral and multilateral meetings. Among them, Colombian president Gustavo Petro discussed migration, among other topics, in meetings with the presidents of Bolivia and Honduras, per EFE. Emisoras Unidas notes that the presidents of Guatemala and Paraguay also met to discuss migration, among other topics.
🌎🇺🇸 United States and Regional
“President Trump said Wednesday he was revoking a Biden-era license allowing Chevron to produce oil in Venezuela over what he said was strongman Nicolás Maduro’s failure to assist in deporting migrants… Trump’s announcement came nearly a month after senior White House envoy Richard Grenell met with Maduro in Caracas to strike a deal that would restart deportation flights to the country,” reports Wall Street Journal. “To date, neither government has spoken publicly about suspending flights or restructuring them,” and the migration-related impact of Trump’s Wednesday announcement is not yet clear, says Efecto Cocuyo.
Prior in the week, a third flight of Venezuelan deportees had arrived in the country, the first to include women and children, per Efecto Cocuyo.
“Officials in Costa Rica and Panama are confiscating migrants’ passports and cellphones, denying them access to legal services and moving them between remote outposts as they wrestle with the logistics of a suddenly reversed migration flow. The restrictions and lack of transparency are drawing criticism from human rights,” and have also included limits on press access, reports AP. ““Panama cannot end up becoming a black hole for deported migrants,” said Juan Pappier, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in the Americas.”
“A group of high-profile lawyers on Saturday filed a suit against Panama over its detention of migrants deported from the United States, threatening to disrupt President Trump’s new policy of exporting migrants from around the world to Central American countries,” reports The New York Times, noting that the lawsuit was filed before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
None of the migrants deported by the US to Costa Rica have sought asylum in the Central American country, reports El Observador.
An IMUMI report reviews the idea of the US deporting migrants to Mexico as a “safe third country,” arguing that Mexico must maintain sovereignty in its immigration policy and uphold human rights. The report additionally dives into protection concerns within Mexico and a lack of capacity in the country’s asylum system. (press release)
“Grenada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Joseph Andall, has confirmed that the Trump Administration has made an official request to the Government to accept immigrants who are not Grenadians to be deported to the country, but that it has refused the offer,” reports Jamaica Gleaner. This came after previously denied rumors of such talks back in December. (see AMB 12/9/24)
🇨🇴🇵🇦 Panama and Colombia
“Colombia and Panama must strengthen collaboration to address shared and common challenges in mixed movements and protect the human rights of all people on the move in the region, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Gehad Madi said today… In view of the continued south to north mixed movement and the increased north to south reverse movement, the expert said Colombia and Panama should take joint responsibility to ensure protection for migrants and refugees… Many individuals travelling back from the north are in vulnerable situations partly due to the failure to address their protection needs when they travelled north, including through Panama and Colombia.” (press release; see also Madi’s end of visit statements for Panama and Colombia)
🇧🇴🇨🇱 Chile and Bolivia
Chile and Bolivia signed an agreement so that migrants caught irregularly entering Chile from Bolivia will be returned to the latter country, regardless of nationality. (La Tercera)
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
Nicaragua has withdrawn from IOM (as well as ILO and the UN Human Rights Council), per AFP.
Labor Migration
🌎 Regional
“Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have launched a multi-country initiative aimed at facilitating access to labour mobility pathways for migrants, refugees and other displaced individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean,” including training support for 1,500 candidates and efforts to “strengthen local organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean, including refugee-led groups, by providing training, coaching, and technical resources to effectively implement labour mobility solutions.” (press release)
🇨🇦 Canada
“Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced the 2025 Express Entry categories,” including introducing Education as a new category, reports CIC News, documenting the changes in eligible categories and occupations.
An MPI report explores the long-term impact of immigration on demography in Canada, explaining that the country has often looked to migration to fill labor gaps and address demographic transition.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
Panama is working to formalize the recent trend in southbound, reverse migration through maritime migration channels from Panama to northern Colombia via the Caribbean Sea. As of Tuesday last week, Panama’s Security Minister had said that “the boat arrangements were “irregular” deals struck with boat captains.” The Panamanian government had received criticism after a child died when a boat traveling south capsized last month. (Washington Post, AP, EFE; see last week’s AMB)
Migrants are paying $10 a day to stay in temporary shelters on the island of Gardi Sugdub, which was once home to Indigenous Panamanians, many of whom have since relocated to the mainland in a historic planned relocation. (La Vanguardia; see AMB 6/3/24)
Social media has been a key source of information for migrants looking to turn back towards South America, says EFE, noting, “Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday that more than 2,000 people entered Panama (in February) via the border with Costa Rica in a growing reverse flow of migrants to the south.”
Ramón Jauregui, president of Fundación Euroamérica, writes at El País that Europe should look to offer shelter and opportunity to Latin American migrants and asylum seekers rejected by the US, both addressing demographic and labor needs and improving integration and ties between the two regions.
An IOM report explores migration trends in the Americas in the final quarter of 2024.
🇵🇪 Peru
Emigration of educated Peruvians and brain drain is growing, but Peru lacks an articulated plan to respond to the phenomenon, according to Otto Regalado at Infobae.
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Canada and United States
Despite an increase in Canadian border enforcement efforts to deter crossings of migrants from Canada into the US, the most pervasive trend at the border is currently the reverse: migrants—particularly asylum seekers—entering Canada from the US. (New York Times)
Borders and Enforcement
🇬🇹 Guatemala
Con Criterio highlights Guatemalan border enforcement efforts since US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit last month, noting a deployment of 400 soldiers and police officers to the country’s southern border.
🇨🇦 Canada
“Canada deported more people last year to hit its highest annual level of removals in about a decade,” reports Reuters, noting that the majority of cases were rejected asylum applications.
🇺🇸 United States
“The Trump administration is creating a registry for all people [at least 14 years old] who are in the United States illegally, and those who don’t self-report could face fines or prosecution, reports AP. Axios notes that the policy is likely to be contested in court, and that the Trump administration claims that those who register will be kicked out of the US but offered “an opportunity to come back someday.”
“The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president's mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo… It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations,” reports Reuters.
“The Department of Homeland Security has pushed the Internal Revenue Service to turn over the addresses of roughly 700,000 undocumented immigrants it is seeking to deport… in a request that could violate taxpayer privacy laws. I.R.S. officials have so far denied the department’s attempts to verify the addresses,” reports New York Times.
MPI explains how the Trump administration has adopted a whole-of-government approach to its mass deportation campaign.
“The Geo Group, the largest single private contractor to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said it was building out its surveillance business to be able to monitor hundreds of thousands or millions more immigrants than it already does,” reports The Guardian.
More on Migration
🇻🇪 Venezuela
A World Bank working paper explores the impacts of forced displacement from Venezuela on the communities emigrants have left behind, finding that “areas affected by mass forced displacement experienced lower voter turnout and opposition support, limiting political and social reforms. These areas also witnessed growth in organized crime and foreign non-state drug and human trafficking.”
🇺🇸 United States
The Trump administration is looking to replace the EB-5 investor visa pathway to legal permanent residence with a new “gold card,” which raises the required investment threshold from $1 million to $5 million. Details for the “gold card” are sparse, but the EB-5 has also included “a host of other requirements, such as documenting that the investment will create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for U.S. workers,” per CBS.