During the last year, millions of Latin Americans left their countries fleeing the effects of armed conflicts, political instability, economic crises and climate change, according to experts, which deepened the migratory crisis that afflicts the region.
“One of the most important characteristics of migration in 2022 has been that migratory flows have become increasingly hemispheric, causing migration not only to affect traditional countries such as the US and Mexico, but also transit countries, including many countries in Central America that are seeing higher migration flows for the first time, especially from South America, such as Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans,” he told the voice of america Ariel Ruiz Soto, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington DC.
The General Assembly of the United Nations Organization (UN) proclaimed in 2000 December 18 as International Migrants Day, given the increase in migratory flows in the world. In the resolutioninvites Member States to disseminate information on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants.
The current estimate of the UN indicates that in 2020 there were some 281 million international migrants in the world, which is equivalent to 3.6% of the global population.
In the case of Latin America, “we are talking about at least three critical migration systems,” he explained to the VOA Betilde Muñoz, director of social inclusion of the Organization of American States (OAS). The movements of citizens from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who “usually” go to the United States, that of Venezuelans who are largely concentrated in other Latin American countries, and that of Nicaraguans who settled mainly in Costa Rica “later of the political crisis and repression in the country”.
The report on Migration in the World of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of 2022, details the repercussion of the political situation in Venezuela on migratory flows in the region and characterizes it as “one of the largest displacement and migration crises in the world”.
Around 7.1 million Venezuelans have left the country in the last five years. Among the main destinations of these migrants are Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Brazil. In the case of Colombia, Ruiz Soto pointed out, 2.5 million Venezuelans are living in the country.
The US remained in 2022 as the main destination country, he told the VOA Liz Lizama, IOM Director of Communications. The country is home to 51 million migrants, the most in the world, followed by Canada with 8 million and then South America.
The displacements leave a balance of deaths and disappearances of migrants that, according to the IOM, this year reached 1,061. The main causes of incidents are drowning, vehicle accidents or extreme environmental conditions, such as heat stroke.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also disrupted mobility. Despite the fact that the number of migrants fell dramatically in the first year, in 2022 the “numbers have increased significantly in the region, and this is not necessarily a trend exclusive to the Americas, it is a trend that we are seeing around the world” Lizama added.
COVID-19 forced migrants to suspend their plans due to the restrictions, led others to opt for risky journeys such as crossing the Darien Gap, which increased the employment of smugglers in the region. Some 178,867 adults entered Panama irregularly through the Darién jungle between January and October 2022, 70% of them were Venezuelans, according to data from the IOM migration trends report.
“Even though the trip is dangerous and has all those kinds of difficulties, there is still no alternative for people to do better and arrive in a regular, orderly, and safe manner to the US or Mexico,” said Ruiz Soto.
US policies influence migration in the region
A record number of migrants arrived at the US border with the intention of seeking refuge in the North American country. In the last year, the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP, for its acronym in English), intercepted more than 2.7 million migrants Latin Americans who entered irregularly.
Data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) indicate that in the first half of fiscal year 2022, the number of new immigrants with legal status reached 209,124, of which 17,681 were South Americans.
“Add to the complexity is the uncertainty regarding US border policy,” he told the VOA Kevin Appleby, acting director of the New York Center for Migration Studies. For example, the revocation as of December 21 of Title 42, the measure that allows the expulsion of people who cross irregularly into the US, would be sending “inconsistent” messages about the country’s position towards migrants, he explained.
Since the application of Title 42 was extended to Venezuelans, the irregular entries of these citizens to the US have decreased by 85%, according to US authorities. However, the number of Nicaraguans and Cubans would have increased, because the measure is not applied to them.
“We are in a moment of challenge and danger for the migrants who make the journey, because there is no guarantee that they will have due process once they arrive in the United States,” Appleby said.
Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said in a press release that “the administration (of President Joe Biden) has always viewed migration as a hemispheric and regional challenge, a challenge that goes beyond just the US. and we have tried to work on these challenges”.
The future of regional migration
In 2022, governments in the Americas approached efforts to adopt the migration crisis as a regional challenge. As an expression of this, the countries of the hemisphere signed the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection in June, under which they committed to expanding legal migration channels and promoting political, economic, security, social and environmental conditions so that people lead a peaceful, productive and dignified life in their countries of origin”.
On the other hand, Colombia established the Temporary Statute for the Protection of Migrants, in order to regularize the situation of 1.8 million Venezuelan citizens, an effort that, according to the IOM spokesperson, will allow them to “become active members of society and contribute to the economy.
“What is required is not only better policies, but also a way to communicate to people exactly what are the ways to legally enter or reach the United States and Mexico,” Ruiz Soto said.
Migrants continue to face great challenges in their movement through the region. Among them, explained the director of social inclusion of the OAS, access to humanitarian aid such as medical services, food and drinking water; the granting of a regular status that allows them to access other rights in their country of destination; the social, cultural and economic inclusion of the population, and finally, xenophobia and discrimination.
“Given these challenges, it is essential to design public policies that allow migration to be managed positively, not as a problem, but as an opportunity,” said Muñoz.
Appleby assured that “the United States needs a comprehensive policy that combines protection with some kind of long-standing policy on development and governance in some of these countries. You need to reform your immigration system as it stands. We have a demand for workers, and we basically depend on the undocumented population of this country to meet those needs.”
[Divalizeth Cash contribuyó a este reporte]
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