Americas Migration Brief - September 30, 2024
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Table of Contents
Integration and Development
🇨🇴 Colombia
The Colombian government published the decree for the PEP-Tutor permit meant to regularize the status of the parents and guardians of “the more than 270,000 Venezuelan children and adolescents who are in the country and who already have a Temporary Protection Permit (PPT).” (see AMB 6/24/24)
The government has also published a resolution for public comment to establish a new “Special Visitor” visa. This regularization pathway is geared towards Venezuelans that have not accessed or been eligible for other pathways in recent years, says Red+, noting that the visa lasts 2 years, with the idea that migrants can transition to another status or visa during this period.
Colombia’s historic move to use a compulsory license to access generic doses of a drug to treat HIV will have an important benefit for Venezuelan migrants in the country, reports Al Jazeera, explaining, “Venezuelans accounted for one in four people living with HIV in Colombia last year. The Colombian government cited the group as a motivation to issue the dolutegravir license.”
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
Hundreds of Dominicans protested last week against Haitian migration, calling for the Abinader government to “stop the ‘illegal migration’ of Haitians.” (AFP)
🇧🇷 Brazil
Brazil’s Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU) has filed an action to try to facilitate the provision of family reunification-based visas for Afghan migrants that have already arrived to the country through a humanitarian visa. They aim to ease documentation requirements considering current conditions in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. (MigraMundo)
🇦🇷 Argentina
R4V breaks down the requirements and benefits of Argentina’s recently announced regularization and entry requirement flexibilization for Venezuelans. (see AMB 9/9/24)
🇪🇨 Ecuador
A REMHU paper “examines the integration of Venezuelan migrant students into the Ecuadorian educational system, analyzing challenges and perspectives.”
Asylum, Protection, and Human Rights
🌎 Regional
A World Bank report explores gender-based violence (GBV) against migrant women and girls while in transit through Central America. The study included 263 interviews of migrants in transit in Costa Rica and Guatemala, as well as interviews with service providers and other stakeholders. Findings in the data-rich report include that “A critical issue is the lack of specialized GBV services tailored to the needs of women and girls on the move. While some services exist for national women survivors of GBV, they often do not cater to the unique circumstances of women and girls in transit, who typically move quickly across borders.”
“Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network highlights the threat of sex trafficking and other forms of human trafficking in the Caribbean, noting, for example, that ‘in Belize, as in other countries, many victims of sex-trafficking are migrants seeking employment that will allow them to send money back home,’” Arianna Kohan and I explain at the Just Caribbean Updates newsletter.
A Pan-American Health Organization report explores health needs and challenges in the Darien region.
The New Humanitarian highlights barriers to aid in the Darien, from criminal elements to shrinking aid budgets to demonization and other government pressure.
“(Inter-American Commission on Human Rights) calls on States to continue adopting measures to prevent and eradicate statelessness in the region” (press release)
A report from IRAP and partners based on “more than 3,600 responses and firsthand accounts of displaced people seeking safety in the United States,” finds evidence of the link between climate change and displacement, as well as of the impacts of climate change on migrants in transit through Central America and Mexico. Findings included that “43% of respondents from the Americas reported experiencing environmental disasters such as hurricanes, droughts, extreme heat, and floods in their home countries.” (see also press release)
🇻🇨 St. Vincent and the Grenadines
“Two months after Hurricane Beryl, one of the most destructive storms in recent memory, residents of the Caribbean’s once-idyllic Grenadines Islands are still battling to rebuild their lives and livelihood,” notes IOM, adding that many “are struggling to regain normality while juggling the challenges of displacement and loss… Over half of the Union Island population is displaced on the mainland, living in shelters or with family and friends.”
🇨🇴 Colombia
Juliana Hurtado Rassi writes for Universidad Externado de Colombia that “the State as a whole has the duty to organize protection and comprehensive assistance for victims of forced internal displacement due to environmental factors,” highlighting the role of climate change in causing displacement in Colombia.
🇺🇸 United States
The Biden administration is planning to announce changes to its June 2024 rule restricting access to asylum at the border: “The envisioned changes would make it much harder for officials to end the partial asylum ban by tweaking the threshold at which it would be deactivated. The current order stipulates that the measure would lapse if the seven-day average of daily illegal border crossings falls below 1,500… Under the changes, however, the asylum restrictions would only deactivate if the seven-day average stays below 1,500 for 28 days,” reports CBS.
“The Texas National Guard has repeatedly fired pepper spray projectiles at arriving migrants… The Texas legislature should deny additional funds for the Texas Military Department, which oversees the Texas National Guard, until this practice ends,” says Human Rights Watch.
The United Farm Workers annual convention highlighted the protections granted by the Biden administration’s new Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) program. Similarly to DACA, the program allows immigrant workers at workplaces under investigation for labor law violations to apply for deferred action from deportation and for work permits. (UFW, Univisión)
Migratory Institutions and Regional and Bilateral Cooperation
🌎 Regional
Multiple leaders from across the region mentioned migration during interventions at the UN General Assembly and Summit of the Future last week. This included:
Chilean president Gabriel Boric stated that his country currently hosts 800,000 Venezuelan migrants, but that “Chile is not in a position to receive more migration.” (CNN)
Guatemalan president Bernardo Arévalo highlighted migrants’ protection needs and “said that ‘areas for improvement’ are being identified to offer better treatment to migrants passing through Guatemala,” per Prensa Libre.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva denounced xenophobia and attributed the causes of migration to wealthy countries. (Correio Braziliense)
Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino “linked the migration crisis to the institutional crisis in the region, specifically in Venezuela, which he considered to be the direct cause of millions of Venezuelans leaving their country,” per AlbertoNews.
22 countries from across the hemisphere attended the fourth Los Angeles Declaration Ministerial last week. A White House fact sheet summarizes updates and new announcements from participating countries, including:
The US “announced more than $686 million in new humanitarian, development, economic, and security assistance to support partner countries.”
“The United States is incorporating Labor Neighbors as part of the Safe Mobility Initiative to refer migrants to more lawful pathways and help match labor demand to labor supply across the hemisphere.”
“Belize announced it is establishing a seasonal migrant worker program focused on agriculture and construction.”
“Ecuador is launching a new labor mobility unit with U.S. support.”
“Mexico committed to opening a Multi-Purpose Processing Center in Chiapas to streamline the processing of migrants seeking refuge and to provide them integration support through access to financial, health, and education services.”
“Panama announced the intent to begin a process that would allow migrants currently living in Panama irregularly to apply for legal status and obtain work authorizations.”
“Peru, working closely with United Nations implementing agencies, announced plans to prioritize documenting migrant children and adolescents in the public education system. Through these efforts, Peru will provide protection and basic services to minors and their families.”
A new Secretariat will further institutionalize the Los Angeles Declaration. “The Government of Colombia formally announced that it will assume the role of rotating Country Chair over the next year and will host the fifth Los Angeles Declaration Ministerial in 2025.” (fact sheet)
“The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and the Department of Social Inclusion (DIS) of the Secretariat for Access to Rights and Equity (SARE) of the Organization of American States (OAS) have been selected to establish the joint Technical Secretariat of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection… the Technical Secretariat will establish a group of independent Permanent Strategic Advisors, seeking to engage key stakeholders such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas (CEDA).” (press release)
CEDA, a partner of the Americas Migration Brief, “is proud to join (PADF and the OAS) as an independent Permanent Strategic Advisor to the Technical Secretariat in this endeavor. This critical appointment will bolster hemispheric collaboration and continue to mobilize efforts across the region to advance innovative migration governance in the Americas.” (press release)
Another side event at the UN brought together officials from Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, and the US, among others, to discuss migration. (press release)
A new coalition, the Mayors of the Americas Task Force on Migration, “unites mayors from major cities across the Americas—from Bogotá, Colombia, to San Antonio, U.S.—to implement innovative, city-led migration responses and break through the political gridlock that has slowed national-level responses.” (press release)
A new observatory focused on migration through the Darien Gap and “other alternative routes” was launched by over 15 organizations with the goal of monitoring human rights along the migration route and of coordinating and sharing information between relevant actors. (press release)
IOM and the CAF development bank “signed a technical cooperation agreement to address migration challenges in (Latin America and the Caribbean) while tapping into the potential of migrants to drive sustainable and inclusive development.” (press release)
🇵🇦🇨🇴 Colombia and Panama
Following a meeting on the sidelines of the UN, “Colombia and Panama will seek to build a single, organized route through the [Darien Gap] jungle that hundreds of thousands of migrants cross as they attempt to reach the US, according to Colombian President Gustavo Petro,” as reported by Bloomberg. EFE adds that the two countries aim to have a trilateral meeting including the US to further discuss the matter.
Labor Migration
🇨🇦 Canada
“In July 2023, Canada introduced a new visa program aimed at recruiting skilled professionals currently working in the U.S. under H-1B visas,” explains Niskanen Center, finding that “Despite the initial wave of interest, only 1,205 H-1B workers arrived in Canada in the first year of the program’s existence, representing just 12 percent of the original applicant pool.”
🇺🇸 United States
“New survey data commissioned by FWD.us reveals that more international students who are considering studying for advanced STEM degrees at U.S. colleges and universities are anticipating short-term work stays in the U.S. after completing their studies… These shifts highlight how outdated and restricted immigration pathways can influence future STEM professionals’ decisions about education and work. They also highlight an opportunity for employers and policymakers to better leverage existing, underutilized legal avenues, like STEM OPT and the O-1A visa, as entry-points for highly skilled workers,” says Fwd.us.
“Beginning in 2018, the United States economy started to have more job openings than unemployed or available workers… Immigrant workers have been a pillar of the American economy for decades. Tapping into their skills would be an effective way to ease the labor shortage,” argues a Baker Institute brief.
Migrants in Transit
🌎 Regional
“Migrant crossings through the treacherous Darien Gap that connects Panama to Colombia are down by over a third in the year's first nine months,” reports Reuters.
However, “Migration through the Darién Gap averaged 860 people per day during first 23 days of September, the highest daily average since June,” notes Adam Isacson on Twitter.
Borders and Enforcement
🇵🇦 Panama
“Panama sent two more deportation flights carrying migrants from the Darién Gap back to their countries of origin: one to Colombia on September 19 and one to Ecuador on September 20. Since the beginning of August, pointed out Thomas Cartwright of Witness at the Border, Panama has run 11 flights, most with U.S. support, that have deported 441 people. The Panamanian daily La Prensa counted 433 people, and a total cost of $900,000 for the 11 flights. That is $2,079 per deported person.” (via Daily Border Links)
🇺🇸 United States
“Between June 5 (when the Biden administration’s restrictive asylum rule went into effect) and September 10, the U.S. government has returned “more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries,” Luis Miranda, the Principal Deputy Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Communications, told the Venezuelan daily TalCual.” (via Daily Border Links)
The US sanctioned “multiple executives of travel agencies in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East” for their facilitation of irregular migration. (press release)
On the presidential campaign trail, vice president Kamala Harris “called for more punitive measures for people crossing the border illegally,” reports Reuters.
The New York Times adds, “she appears to believe she has found a way to negate Mr. Trump’s criticisms of her: blaming him for helping kill a bipartisan deal in Congress this year that would have sharply narrowed the path to asylum and provided money for more immigration officials and technology to detect drug smugglers at the border.”
Former president Donald Trump is vowing that if elected in December, his mass deportation campaign would include deporting the more than 1 million immigrants that have entered the US through the humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and through the CBP One app. (AP)
Trump’s mass deportation plans include “invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military,” per AP.
“An El País analysis of the Trump campaign’s promise to carry out a “mass deportation” program found that it could cost between $265 billion and $481 billion to carry out. By removing 4.5 percent of the U.S. workforce, it estimates, the promised removal program would slow U.S. GDP growth by more than 9 percentage points while increasing inflation.” (via Daily Border Links)
The Democratic party’s approach to the border has shifted to become more restrictionist as public opinion has soured, explains MPI. However, “Despite converging on a tough message on the border, the candidates still differ on how they would actually manage new arrivals as well as the broader role of immigration in the United States. Democrats continue to message that orderly immigration is a net positive for the country, while many Republicans frame even legal immigration as a threat to U.S. jobs and security.”
🇨🇦 Canada
Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller is looking to “introduce additional measures that would target those who do not follow the visitor visa rules,” such as by using the visa to then seek asylum, explains VisaGuide.
🇳🇮 Nicaragua
Nicaragua is removing visa requirements for Albania, reports EFE.
More on Migration
🌎 Regional
“The role of cryptocurrency as a source for remittance payments has been highlighted by some as emerging, and others as a potential opportunity… The evidence does not yet demonstrate an effective footprint,” explains the Inter-American Dialogue in a new brief on the connection between cryptocurrencies and remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean.