Forced migration trends in Latin Latin America and the Caribbean
America and the Caribbean Team
Context– First semester 2023 Daniel Restrepo Muñoz
Gilma Adriana Sánchez Díaz
Direction and Discernment Jember Javier Pico Castañeda
Community Natalia Betancourt Andrade
Analí Briceño (Encuentros SJM Perú)
Conrado Zepeda Miramontes (JRS México) Mexico Team
Edgar Magallanes (JRS Venezuela) Conrado Zepeda Miramontes
Fernando López (JRS Ecuador) Mariana Domínguez
Juan Enrique Casas (JRS Colombia)
Oscar Javier Calderón Barragán (JRS LAC) Peru Team
Antonella Tucto Delgado
Advocacy and Communication Sthefanie Mayer Falla
Community of Practice and Learning
Venezuela Team
Colombia Team Roland Hernández
Gabriela Thiriat
María José Molano Editorial Coordination
Gilma Adriana Sánchez Díaz
Ecuador Team Jember Javier Pico Castañeda
Laura Muriel Natalia Betancourt Andrade

Graphic Design and Layout

Giovanny Gómez

Forced migration trends in Latin America and the Caribbean. Regional context
report – First semester 2023 Encounters Jesuit Migrant Service - SJM Peru,
Jesuit Refugee Service for Latin America and the Caribbean - JRS LAC under
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License - ShareAlike 4.0
International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), 2023

With the support of

  



1. People and communities made invisible in the region during forced

human mobility ............................................................................................................................... 4

2. Militarization and securitization policies .................................................................. 7

3. Risks of migratory routes in Latin America and the Caribbean ................ 10

4. Gray areas in international protection, immigration regularization

and government response ...................................................................................................... 13

5. Guarantee of rights of refugee, migrant and internally displaced

girls, boys, and adolescents, unaccompanied minors and the
institutional response in the region………………….............................................................. 18

6. Guarantee of human rights to cross-border Indigenous

communities ..................................................................................................................................... 21

7. Opportunities for reconciliation and hospitality ................................................. 23

8. Publications about the context of each country ................................................ 26



Migration has always been rooted in Latin America and the Caribbean history as a result of
the traditional internal armed conflicts in Central American, South American, and
Caribbean countries or democratic crises. However, migration processes have intensified,
and their causes have diversified, and this has been a challenge for the international
protection schemes implemented by States and for the host communities capacities when
trying to respond adequately and with a rights-based approach to refugees, migrants, and
internally displaced persons; creating “protection gaps.”

According to UNHCR's 2022 Mid-Year Trends analyses, it is estimated that the Americas
holds 19.9 million people seeking asylum or refuge, or are refugees, internally displaced
persons, stateless persons, as well as other people in need of international protection.

From this perspective, this document seeks to present regional trends in migratory
processes (based on territorial approaches in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and
Peru), emphasizing the risks on migratory pathways, migration management policies
and their emphasis on the militarization, securitization and externalization of border
controls, the gray areas in protection measures, the migratory processes of indigenous
communities and, finally, the reconciliation and hospitality opportunities developed by
that migrant and reception communities.


      

      

    

In the region, there are various groups that have been forcibly displaced that require
comprehensive protection. This section seeks to highlight populations and nationalities in
forced displacement conditions that are rarely ever mentioned. It is worth noting that one
of the biggest challenges in the region is to gather updated data and statistics on
people who have been forcibly displaced, this is why there is no clarity about the number
of people who transit or reside in the countries, and why the development of concrete
protection actions towards minority or invisible populations becomes a challenge.

One of the best-known migratory flows currently is that of Venezuelans. It is estimated that
-as of March of this year-6,095,464 people in the region are seeking asylum or any kind of
immigration regularization mechanism so to establish themselves in the region (R4V,
2023). This population is highly diverse, and includes people with disabilities. In Mexico it
was notorious finding Venezuelan asylum seekers with hearing and speech disabilities
who require translation into Venezuelan sign language in order to communicate with
authorities and/or civil society organizations, making the guarantee and defense of their
rights arduous.

Haitians are one of the invisible populations in the region. Although they have been on
the move for more than 10 years, there is no clear data on the total number of people in the
area. An information identification exercise - carried out by JRS LAC using different
government sources - considers there is an estimate of 1.7 million Haitians migrating in
the region: They can be found traveling north from countries where they resided for 10
years, having mixed families with minors of Chilean, Argentine or Brazilian origin.

On the other hand, the number of Ecuadorians who are transiting to the United States
and Chile has been on the rise. Since 2020, 200,200 Ecuadorian people who arrived at the
southern border of the United States have been detained (Plan V Editorial Team, 2023),
depicting an increase in a migratory flow whose causes and travel conditions are mostly
unknown. In Mexico, a significant group of Ecuadorians has been identified; they arrived
by air to Cancun and are traveling by land to Ciudad Juárez. The mobility of Central
American populations from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua who are forced to
migrate due to violence, massive human rights violations committed by their governments
and persecutions , is hardly mentioned.

Additionally, there are extracontinental populations seeking to reach the United States,
that cross Latin America and the Caribbean to reach their destination. People who come
from the Africa have been identified 1 : when cross-referencing information from various
government sources, it is noted that, in recent years, there are 2.9 million

1
More information in: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migracion-africana-continente-americano


  

Africans migrating in the region. It has also been possible to detect the presence of people
from Afghanistan 2, Ukraine3 and China 4, among other nationalities, about which there are
no statistics. In both Mexico and Colombia, it was highlighted that the greatest challenge
with these populations is the language barrier, since a large part of them are non-Spanish
speakers.

In the eastern part of Venezuela, as the presence of people from different nationalities such
as Republic of Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria, has increased, they arrived from Trinidad
and Tobago, with the purpose of traveling through the country towards Colombia, Panama
-taking the route that crosses the dangerous rainforest of El Darién-, passing through the
Central American countries and arrive to the United States.

On the other hand, it is necessary to point out that the violence contexts within the
countries, associated to drug trafficking, internal armed conflict, environmental conflicts,
disputes between criminal organizations, among others, maintain and may increase the
internal forced displacement flows and in some cases they become situations that require
international protection. Colombia is one of the few countries that has specialized
institutions to respond to this population; thus, there is no clear data on the number of
internally displaced people in other countries. In Mexico, efforts are being made to create
laws to protect this population, however, as of today the State does not acknowledge these
realities, leaving an estimate 300,000 people unprotected, according to data from
non-governmental organizations.
5

In Colombia, an increase in human trafficking has been noted , Nonetheless accessing

information about the current situation is still arduous, given the under-reporting of cases
and the ineffective response by the State. Similarly, Peru has also had an increase in
human trafficking, there have been reports that human trafficking networks such as the
Tren de Aragua, make migrant women victims of sexual exploitation. This situation
occurs throughout the region.

Another group that is traveling through the regional territory and is barely mentioned, are
the unaccompanied girls, boys and adolescents who have left their countries´ fleeing
violence, looking for job opportunities to support their family that remains in the country of
origin, or seeking international protection in another country. Details about this population
will be discussed later.

A different group that has been made invisible is the pendulum population, that -lives in
border territories- with a high level of mobility between countries. After
6 the borders
between Colombia and Venezuela, as well as the borders Peru and Ecuador were opened,
the health, education and/or work needs, of people who oscillate between countries were
compromised given the lack of comprehensive protection measures to access their
rights. In both cases, there are no documents that formalize and protect the pendulum
movement of people.

2
More information in: : https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/world/americas/darien-gap-afghan-migration.html?campaign
3 More information at: https://www.france24.com/es/programas/aqu%C3%AD-am%C3%A9rica/20220412-la-ruta-migratoria

-of-the-refugees-from-Ukraine-through%C3%A9s-of-m%C3%A9xico
4 More information at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-64070549
5 More information at: https://www.france24.com/es/programas/aqu%C3%AD-am%C3%A9rica/20220412-la-ruta-migratoria-

of-the-refugees-from-Ukraine-through%C3%A9s-of-m%C3%A9xico
6 The reopening of borders between Colombia and Venezuela occurs due to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations. The

reopening of borders between Peru and Ecuador occurs after the COVID-19 pandemic.

      

In some cases, the migrant and refugee population located on the border of Ecuador and
Peru, also part of this pendulum dynamic; decide to move across borders in order to seek
humanitarian assistance such as kits, food cards and financial assistance, to which they no
longer have access in area where they live, thus they continue living in extreme
vulnerability conditions.

Finally, another invisible group, the LGBTIQ+ community, is subject to different kinds of
violence such as discrimination, xenophobia, physical violence, psychological violence,
among others, in their countries of origin, as well as in transit and destination countries. In
Ecuador, there is still a strong discrimination against this community which has given way
to marginalization and precariousness, making comprehensive protection for access to
rights strenuous. The impact of this violence forces this community to continue their
transit or leave their country and seek asylum in other countries where they believe they
may have more guarantees.

In Peru being a Venezuelan LGBTIQ+ migrant and refugee, can create an additional barrier
to the fulfillment of personal development goals and expectations, especially in a
country with significant gaps regarding legislative protection and access to rights (IOM,
2020).

According to the study carried out by the International Organization for Migration - IOM on
Venezuelan people in Lima, Arequipa, and La Libertad titled "Leaving home to return to the
closet", people state that on the migratory route they receive offensive comments
regarding their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Trans people needed to hide
their gender identity to avoid being raped when crossing borders between countries. In
Peru, xenophobia has manifested itself during the search for housing by LGBTIQ+ people:
when conducting interviews, they reported having experienced situations of
discrimination, intimidating treatment, and abuse of power by leaseholders.

Some people indicated that they had been evicted from their homes because of their
LGBTIQ+ nature, a situation that led them to hide their sexual orientation or gender iden-
tity when renting a room, a situation that is similar to what was identified at the borders.

The document states that most people did not have access to health insurance, and
medical care depended on the financial resources available at the time. The majority
decided to self-medicate or followed treatments prescribed in Venezuela. Internal
displacement had effects on the mental health of LGBTIQ+ people causing episodes of
depression and anxiety.

LGBTIQ+ migrants reported difficulties in accessing job opportunities due to their nationali-
ty and, in some cases, because they were part of LGBTIQ+ communities. The jobs in which
LGBTIQ+ Venezuelan migrants worked were mostly informal and with a salary that would
not cover their needs.

Furthermore, Peruvian press contributes to the building of a stereotype about

Venezuelan people living in the country, representing them as dangerous or associating
them with crime, prostitution, and diseases such as HIV; driving rejection by the host
community towards migrants from Venezuela.


  

 
 


Given the diverse realities experienced by refugees, migrants, and internally displaced
people in the region, in June 2022 in the Americas Summit, 20 countries on the continent
signed the Los Angeles Declaration7 in order to implement regional agreements for
cooperation and migration management. Nonetheless, migration policies have been based
on migration management strategies that move away from comprehensive protection and
a human rights-based approach; these impact people in a situation of forced displacement,
as well as the transit and host communities.

Immigration policies that are based on securitization and militarization approaches

follow the premise that refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons are a threat to
the security of the State, therefore, actions for the “care” of the population can be
characterized by the presence of public force, administrative sanctions for the migrant
population, requirements for a high number of documents to regularize their immigration
status (valid passport, criminal record, etc.), among other measures.

An example of this is the militarization of Tacna (Peru) and Arica (Chile) on April 13, 2023,
with the intention of stopping the passing of migrants and refugees, this measure was
justified by the increase in crime, which governments blamed the migrants for, causing a
humanitarian crisis on the border 8. The Peruvian Ministry of Defense ordered that the
Armed Forces support the National Police of Peru, "as seeked in the points deemed
relevant, and within the framework of the constitutional order, in accordance with the
provisions of the declaration of the State of Emergency".

At the moment, there are 196 members of the Peruvian Army and the Peruvian Air Force
(FAP) in this border, which were allocated in a total of 12 observation posts, from post 9 No.
1 to No. 15, 12.5 km from the border, where they control the presence of undocumented
migrants who are on the Concordia line. In addition to that, on April 26, the Peruvian State
declared a state of emergency in the border areas of the departments of Tumbes, Piura,
Cajamarca, Amazonas, Loreto, Madre de Dios, and Tacna given the migratory crisis in the
country, which has translated into a practice of migration management by armed
forces, that has generated greater violations to the rights of this population.

In the case of Ecuadorians, the Mexican government increased the price of the tourist visa,
established the requirement for a letter of invitation from a person living in Mexico and a
commitment to return to Ecuador 10. In the case of Haitians, they require a visa to enter and
transit all countries in the Americas region. For Cubans, only Costa Rica and some
Caribbean countries do not require visas. For Venezuelans, the visa requirement has
increased over the years in countries in the region, such as Peru, Ecuador, and Chile11.

7
More information at: https://reliefweb.int/report/world/la-declaracion-de-los-angeles-podria-representar-un-gran-paso-
para-la-cooperacion-migratoria-real-en-las- americas#:~:text=The%20Declaraci%C3%B3n%20of %20Los%20%C3%81nge-
les%20was%20signed%20on%2010%20of,Guyana%20also%C3%A9n%20firm%C3%B3%20m%C3%A1s%20afternoon.
8
More information at: https://www.r4v.info/sites/default/files/2023-05/20230508_GTRM_Informe_Tacna.pdf
9
The milestone is a geographic demarcation that is used to establish critical points on the border between countries.
10
More information at: https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/politica/mexico-mantiene-requisito-visa-ecuatorianos/
11
More information at: https://www.migrationbrief.com/p/americas-migration-brief-washington


      

Furthermore, in Mexico the increase in securitization has been the result of formal and
informal agreements between the Mexican government and the United States, which
translate into border control externalization practices. This is seen in the increase in
immigration and national guard checkpoints where a high number of migrants and
refugees pass through, such as in Tapachula, Monterrey, Ciudad Juárez, among others. It is
important to mention that the National Guard and the National Immigration Institute,
which are part of immigration management, despite being a civil force, have military
commanders in their ranks who have promoted military training, thus fostering a
military based immigration management practice.

The Government of Mexico implemented the Multiple Migration Form (FMM) several
years ago, a document that enables migrants to transit regularly; however, there have been
cases where immigration or national guard officers have destroyed the documents of
people who are in transit to the north of Mexico, making transit through the country
difficult.

Additionally, it has been recorded that, since the end of Article 42 and the restart of Article
8 in the United States, the delivery of FMM for migrants has decreased, increasing the use
of irregular migratory routes through Mexico, which adds to the increase in detentions
by the national guard or immigration, of the migratory flows especially those who go to
the north of Mexico.

In the Colombian case, the government has not considered forced displacement national
security issue. On the contrary, it has focused on topics associated with integration and
states the “nonexistence of a migration crisis.” However, the new measures issued by the
Colombian and American governments, such as the “Safe Mobility Points” and the
“Regional Processing Centers,” open the door to a potential security-based migration
management approach.

Considering the above, although there are no migration policies that expressly view
migration from a “national security” approach, it has been noted that local governments
use of migration discourses associated with criminalization, increase the levels of
xenophobia in local contexts. With the beginning of local political campaigns, there is a
trend in political speeches to depict migrants as criminals, which has generated hostile
environments, as well as actions such as patrolling to detain migrants, among other
discriminatory practices.

Regarding the Venezuelan context, after almost seven years of closed borders, on January 1,
2023, the Colombian-Venezuelan borders were opened as part of a key element in
improving relations between the two nations that share a border of more than 2,200
kilometers.

In the Paraguachón border crossing, in western Venezuela, there are Citizen Care Points
(PAC) managed by members of the national security (Bolivarian National Guard and Police)
with the purpose of guaranteeing and providing control in the migration processes
experienced in “La Raya,.” However, and despite the free movement that people have in the
only authorized border crossing to the capital of the state of Zulia, there are more than ten
PACs where complaints regarding abuse of authority, mistreatment, and improper
retention of personal belongings of migrants by security officers have been registered.


  

Now, with regards to Ecuador, on its northern border there is free entry through the
Rumichaca bridge and there is no military presence; however, in the South Control of the
city of Tulcán, there are record of how Immigration Police implement arbitrary
documents control processes, abuse their authority and ask for money in exchange
for allowing migrants to continue their journey to the interior of the country.

Despite the tightening of migration policies at the South American level and the
militarization of border areas in several countries of the region, in Ecuador a humanitarian
process for immigration regularization through Presidential Decree No. 436 12 has been
implemented. This decree allows people who have entered formally to seek a VIRTE visa
(Exceptional Temporary Residence Visa for Venezuelans), immigration amnesty, and a
temporary identification for the duration of the visa. But not all people who are in
Ecuadorian territory have the possibility of applying and accessing this possibility.

It should be mentioned that Ecuador is experiencing a period of insecurity due to the

increase in acts of violence and crime associated with drug trafficking. This has deepened
the xenophobia contexts, especially against the Venezuelan and Colombian population.
Faced with this, the Government has declared a State of Exception in some Provinces, for
example, in the province of Esmeraldas. All these factors have led to the population in need
of International Protection to move to other cities to protect themselves, in some cases,
they are beginning to abandon their regularization processes in Ecuador to go to the
United States.

In summary, there is a hardening and restriction of immigration management through

securitization and militarization actions in the region's migration policies, which are
related to the immigration policies of the United States, that has generated border
control externalization actions for migration management. Regarding this, from JRS
LAC, RJM LAC and partner organizations issued a statement alerting about the risks of
these approaches and practices: https://lac.jrs.net/es/noticias/alertas-sobre-la-gestion-mi-
gratoria-y-la- proteccion -en-las-americas-comunicado/

12
Due to the recent Ecuadorian constitutional process called “Crossed Death”, in the context of the impeachment trial of
President Guillermo Lasso that was being carried out in the National Assembly, with the consequent call for early
elections for both the Presidency and the Assembly, it is likely that there will be impacts on the execution of this
presidential decree, with effects on the Venezuelan population that had already taken administrative steps in this regard.


      

     ­€ 

   

As noted in the previous sections, there is a diversity of refugee, migrant and internally
displaced populations in the region that move to the north and south of the continent, who
face a restrictive and securitist response from governments. In this context, a series of risks
have been identified in the migratory routes that people take, given the challenges faced
when entering through regular routes.

Physical violence: In the Darién Gap, acts of violence against people who are crossing
the rainforest have been reported, from assaults, beatings to homicides13. On the
northern border of Ecuador, especially in Esmeraldas, attacks on women, girls, boys,
adolescents, and men have been recorded. These people are beaten and tortured by
active-duty members of the army and armed groups that are on the border.

Kidnappings: In Mexico, cases of migrants who are victims of kidnapping have increased;
recently, the case of 49 people of Haitian, Cuban, Honduran, Salvadoran and Brazilian
nationality who suffered this violence in the State of Chiapas by Mexican cartels became
known14.

Human trafficking: It has been reported that migrant women and girls from Venezuela
are victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation by the criminal gang Tren de
Aragua; these cases have been found in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and
Chile. In Peru, as of June 2022, 59% of the registered trafficking and smuggling victims
were Venezuelan women and adolescents, a figure that exceeded the figure registered
in 2019 of 29%. At the same time, 63% of the Venezuelan population are offered false job
offers, 33% of children are exposed to begging, and 14% of people (women) are forced to
provide sexual services. In the last quarter of 2022, 23% were forced to seek income by
begging or seeking money on the streets and 17% accepted jobs in illegal and/or socially
degrading economies (GTRM, 2023).

In Venezuela, it has been identified that - in the eastern states of the country - groups
that were dedicated to human trafficking to Trinidad and Tobago have been dismantled,
they charged from 200 USD with the false promise of relocating them to the island and
get a formal job. The same situation is experienced in the State of Falcón, in the nor-
thwest of the country, where traffickers identify people with the false promise of working
in the “ABC Islands” (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) but who end up in abuse, torture and
slavery situations.

13
More information at: https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2023/04/15/region-del-darien-ruta-migratorias-mas-peligrosas-del-
sueño americano-trax/
14 More information at: https://www.latimes.com/espanol/mexico/articulo/2023-05-18/mexico-halla-49-migrantes-que-

habian-sido-secuestrados-de-autobus


  

Migrant smuggling: This risk has manifested itself in cases in which, due to border
security, as well as their closure, has had an impact on the options that people in forced
displacement situations have to move between countries, keeping in mind that there are
borders - such as the Colombian-Venezuelan and Colombian-Ecuadorian borders
- where organized armed groups have taken control of the trails and “green routes” and
decide which migrants can or cannot cross the border and what price are they charged.

There are also known cases at the Tumbes and Tacna border crossings where - as of
February 2022, when the borders were reopened - it was noted that between 20% and
29% of the migrants who entered Peru through Tumbes had to make payments
(on average 6 USD) to cross the border; likewise, 4% of people stated that they had made
a similar payment when entering through Tacna. In the Ecuadorian case, it has been
reported that migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people seeking to cross
borders are exposed to different illegal activities such as: "mules", prostitution, drug
cultivation, hitmen, and common crime. On the other hand, reprehensible events have
occurred where people have died due to the journey conditions related to illicit migrant
smuggling. One of the most recent reports was that of 50 people who died in a trailer in
San Antonio, Texas 15 , this situation that continues to increase in the in land, riverine and
maritime routes in the region.

Gender-Based Violence or sexual violence: Cases continue to be reported in the Darién

Gap, where migrant, refugee and internally displaced women and girls have been
victims of rape and sexual violence16 . In the border area of Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, a
series of interviews were carried out with - migrants, internally displaced persons, and
refugees - where 60% of them stated that they had been victims of sexual violence on
their migratory route. When reviewing what is happening in Ecuador, there is evidence
of high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in the northern border, where there is little
presence of authorities guarding the border. Furthermore, there is an under-recording of
the facts since people prefer not to file complaints about threats from their perpetrators.

However, in Peru, the refugee and migrant population from Venezuela in the country
continues to be at risk of GBV. If in 2021 the Women's Emergency Centers (CEM) served
2,025 Venezuelan people (66% more than the cases treated in 2020), as of July 2022, 1,350
cases were treated (GTRM, 2023). According to the survey directed at the Venezuelan
Population 2022, while physical abuse was carried out by the spouse or partner (41% of
cases), psychological violence was carried out by a stranger (39% of cases). It is important
to point out that in Mexico there is an alarming situation, since it has been identified that
migrant women who experience GBV in the country do not receive adequate access to
justice (their claims are not received by the Attorney General's Office of the Republic),
this generates an under-registration of cases and there are no follow-up and protection
actions for victims.

15
More information at: https://elpais.com/internacional/2022-06-28/hallados-al-menos-40-migrantes-muertos-en-
un-trailer-in-san-antonio.html
16
More information at: https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20230215-ser-mujer-en-el-tap%C3%B3n-del-
da-ri%C3%A9n- complaints-of-sexual-violence-point-to-the-paname-authorities%C3%B1as


      

Forced disappearance: Cases of forced disappearances during migratory transit persist,

which lack the necessary follow-up, evidenced by the under-reporting of these cases
because the families who report are not in the country of the facts; this has caused civil
society organizations to create networks that promote the search in the territories of the
region17. Regarding what is happening in Ecuador, it has been detailed that in the
Nariño-Tumaco border (Colombia) and San Lorenzo (Ecuador) disappearances of people
have been recorded, especially adolescents.

Institutional violence: : In Mexico, cases of violence by public officers towards migrants,

refugees and internally displaced people have been identified, who claim to have
received inhuman and degrading treatment. An example of this has been the treatment
migrants and refugees received at Ciudad Juárez´s immigration transit station, which
ended with the death of 40 of them and others were injured18.

Forced recruitment: Throughout the region, there have been cases in which criminal
groups, as well as organized armed groups, are recruiting girls, boys, and adolescents,
especially unaccompanied ones, to carry out tasks related to scraping coca leaves in the
Colombian-Venezuelan border. In Colombia, the escalation of violence and armed con-
flict in areas and departments such as Norte de Santander, Magdalena Medio, Nariño,
and Valle del Cauca has generated an increase in recruitment of nationals and foreigners
in precarious conditions.

The situations described above make visible scenarios of double or multiple affectation
which means that refugees, migrants, and internally displaced people are victims of
various violences not only on their departure but also during their transit and
destination, depicting a complex panorama that requires intersectoral and intersectional
actions, hospitality, and reconciliation to guarantee its comprehensive protection. In the
case of Colombia, as the armed conflict continues, migrants and refugees are affected by
these scenarios of violence. In addition, the State has not established clear routes for their
protection and guarantee of rights when these cases occur; an example of this is that those
people who have an irregular immigration status are not allowed to register in the Single
Registry of Victims

17
More information at: https://www.redjesuitaconmigranteslac.org/post/desaparecidos-impunidad-y-revictimizaci%C3%
B3n-in-the-horizon-of-migration%C3%B3n-in-m%C3%A9xico
18
More information at: https://www.wola.org/es/events/incendio-ciudad-juarez-politica-migratoria/


  

‚  ƒ 

 
    

Based on the risks of migratory routes and the implementation of migration management
policies based on securitization approaches, the countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean have implemented various strategies for the temporary regularization of
migration that have left aside the obligations of States regarding international
protection. In the case of Colombia, it has been called Temporary Protection Permit; in
Ecuador, the “Migration Amnesty” was signed; in Peru it has been called Temporary
Permanence Card (CPP), among others.

Although this has been an advance for the region, it is important to highlight the risks and
gaps that these processes have brought for the migrant, refugee, and internally
displaced population. Among them, it is worth highlighting:

The regularization processes have been focused on the Venezuelan migrant population,
leaving aside other migratory profiles in the region such as that of Haitians, Cubans, and
the growing population from Ecuador;

Regularization strategies have weakened the Refugee system of the countries in the
region, - to continue with the migration regularization processes - which requires waiving
international protection;

Immigration regularization has also excluded migrants due to the conditions established
by the States, such as a deadline from the moment when they entered the country, docu-
ments such as a passport 19or visa - which are difficult for migrants -, high costs for access,
among others (IDB, 2023) .

Regarding the International Protection System in the region, 16 States have included the
definition of “Refuge” adopted by the Cartagena Declaration, expanding the grounds of the
Geneva Convention in the assessment of Refugee applications. However, it has been
identified that people who seek refuge in countries in the region experience legal,
temporal, political and social obstacles that do not allow international protection to be an
accessible tool for the guarantee and protection of rights.

In Venezuela, it is necessary to highlight that there is a known case of two people of

Colombian nationality who arrived in Venezuela fleeing a persecution in the Republic of
Colombia, each one had a well-founded fear of returning to the country because their lives
were in danger. At first they expressed the impossibility of staying in Venezuela, since the
reasons why they fled Colombia were also present in part of the Venezuelan territory
- irregular armed groups - so the goal was to cross into Brazil.

19
More information at: https://blogs.iadb.org/migracion/es/regularizacion-migratoria-desafios-y-oportunidades-para-la-
inclusion-de-migrantes/


      

However, after evaluating the options with advice from several organizations, they
preferred to stay in Venezuela, since moving from the state of Zulia to the state of Bolívar
implied a greater risk. When trying to access the National Commission for Refugees
(CONARE) to apply for refugee status, they received a denial because, according to the
institution, the process was not performed in the scheduled time and, therefore, they
"lost" their right to it. This justification is not established within the Organic Law on
Refugees and Asylums (LORRAA) and CONARE has used it in repeated cases, which
constitutes a violation of human rights.

In Ecuador, the Cartagena Declaration a regional protection instrument, adopted to

provide a pragmatic humanitarian response to mass movements of people fleeing conflict
and massive human rights violations. Based on this principle, Ecuador adopts it in the
Organic Law of Human Mobility of 2017 in Art. 98 numeral 2:

Has fled or is unable to return to their country because their life, safety or freedom has been
threatened by widespread violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violations of
human rights or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and have not
can benefit from the protection of his country of nationality or habitual residence. The
recognition of refugee status has a declarative, civil, humanitarian, apolitical nature and
confers a status of international protection on the person.

In the country, the Venezuelans which do not fulfill the requirements of the 1951 Geneva
Convention do not have international protection. However, they fall into the international
protection profile as applicants based on the Cartagena Declaration, for a given time:
despite this, there is a large number of Venezuelans who have left their country due to
threats from state agents or armed groups, reason why they cannot return to Venezuela;
however, the Commission has denied the Refugee status in Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian State created, through Decree 436, the Extraordinary Immigration
Regularization Visa for citizens of Venezuelan nationality who entered through regular
ways and who for economic reasons have not been able to obtain a temporary visa. The
objective is to provide an opportunity for regularization and -in this way- have opportunities
for a more dignified life. Although this decree has focused on people of Venezuelan
nationality, it is expected that in the future it may cover other nationalities.

Regarding international protection and regularization in Colombia, the people who

usually remain unprotected are those who come from a second country and arrive
seeking protection. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia includes the
Cartagena Declaration within the definition of a refugee.


 ‚ „
    


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However, there are still barriers for these people who, after having transited through a
second country, seek international protection in Colombia. Added to the above, there has
been disincentive to use the Refuge figure prioritizing the Temporary Protection
Permit - PPT, since the institutions have been emphatic in offering the PPT when
assisting people, instead of fully explaining the refuge process in the country.

On the other hand, the type R visa began to be implemented making use of the Temporary
Protection Statute for Venezuelan Migrants, which grants residence to all those
Venezuelans who previously had a Special Permanence Permit - PEP and now have a PPT
and have a 5-year period to stay the country. However, there are still barriers to accessing
this document due to its high cost (455.25 USD). Given this, it is important to note that,
although the transition from PPT to the R Visa is possible, this process may not be adopted
due to the cost of the procedure. Additionally, there continue to be barriers to the
acknowledgment of forced migration caused by displacement, as well as in the continuity
in the trajectory of each migrant.

On the other hand, in Peru, the Refugee Law of 2002 establishes that people can seek
international protection under the Geneva Convention of 1951 and the Cartagena
Declaration of 1984, however in practice, it has been seen that the only applications that
are assessed - and in some cases acknowledged - are those that are considered as part
of the 1951 Geneva Convention. This is one of the main protection gaps in Peru, since a
large number of people seeking international protection have been excluded, thus their
realities and circumstances are not acknowledged, and their rights are not guaranteed.

Though, the profile of Venezuelans has not been included under international
protection, as - in the majority of cases - the reasons why they left their country do not
comply with those provided for in the 1951 Geneva Convention. This has led to the
development other alternatives for immigration regularization such as the Humanita-
rian Immigration Quality, designed exclusively for refugee applicants without the
aforementioned profile. There are other temporary or resident immigration statuses that
have emerged as a way to regularize the immigration situation of Venezuelans or other
foreign populations:

The Humanitarian Migratory Status: Since the publication of the guidelines for
granting humanitarian migratory status in June 2021, this migratory status was granted
to people seeking refuge but are not included in the 1951 Convention on the Status of
Refugees. To date, there is an issue with those who have this immigration status, since –it
is granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the procedure for delivering the
immigration card is administered by the National Superintendence of Migration – SNM –
and there is a very slow communication between both institutions. This has generated
inconveniences, mainly for those who have an expired residence, because although they
have the legal document issued by Foreign Relations, this is not reflected in the public
system of the SNM: since the extension has not been registered there, the person appears
to third parties (public and private) as if it had an expired residence permit, which leads
to -for example- being unable to renew an employment contract, being unable to sign
other legal documents in the country, problems opening bank accounts, among others.


      

The Temporary Permanence Permit - TPP: This initiative, which was in effect from
January 23 to October 31, 2018, attempted to regulate the group of Venezuelan people
who arrived in the country and entered regularly as tourists, granting them one year of
regular stay. However, this temporary permit did not have the characteristic of a resident
immigration status, which grants an immigration card. In this sense, it was a palliative
measure that, later, had a more positive effect with the granting of special resident
immigration status to anyone who had previously obtained the PTP.

The special resident immigration status: Once the first TPP reached the expiration
date, people had to make a change in immigration status to access the special resident
immigration status and - with this - have an immigration card. This immigration status
remains in force, as long as an extension of residence is carried out annually. The National
Immigration Superintendence did not inform in a timely manner that this procedure had
to be carried out and, in addition, the physical document called “immigration card” had
a four-year validity date printed on it. The latter led to confusion among people, as they
interpreted the four years recorded in the physical document as the period of validity of
their residence.

The humanitarian visa: Since -August 2017- the suspension of Venezuela from
MERCOSUR was ordered on December 2, 2016, it was within the power of the Peruvian
state to regulate the entry of Venezuelans into the country. Thus, Superintendency
Resolution No. 000177 Wednesday, June 12, 2019, issued on June 12, 2019, established that,
for immigration control of the entrance into the national territory, people of Venezuelan
nationality must have a passport and corresponding visa, processed by a Peruvian
Consular Office. This motivated many people of this nationality to enter irregularly, that is,
without passing through immigration controls. This fact has been occurring to this day,
in which the incoming flow of this population has been maintained.

The Temporary Permanence Permit Card - TPC: Through Supreme Decree No.
010-2020-IN, an exceptional measure was approved to regularize the immigration status
of foreigners who were in an irregular situation until October 22, 2020. The opportunity to
begin the immigration regularization process and obtain the TPC was extended until
April 1, 2023. However, the deadline on which the group of people in an irregular
immigration situation could access this procedure never changed. Likewise, as
happened with the TPP, the TPC does not represent a complete scope like an
immigration card and - what is worse - unlike the TPP, so far it does not allow access to a
special resident immigration status.


  

In Mexico, there is a big protection gap as the only way for a migratory regularization is
to seek a Refugee status, this has saturated the system created to grant this protection. In
2017, the Mexican government implemented the Migration Regularization Temporal
Program (MRTP), but it did not have the impact that it required as the population was not
informed about it, thus it did not consolidate in a timely manner. In Mexico, the cause of
generalized violence stablished in the Declaration of Cartagena is not considered a
valid reason for approval of the Refugee status; it is only considered when violence was
inflicted by maras, political motives and/or crimes, leaving the assessment to the discretion
of the interviewers. Furthermore, Gender Based Violence (GBV) is not considered a main
reason for seeking asylum; in this sense if the person fled just for this cause, the request
shall not be processed.

Mexico is one of the most impacted countries after the termination of Article 42, the
renewal of Article 8 and the condition of seeking asylum in all the territory before
reaching the United States. The first effect has been the decrease of refugee requests in
Mexico, followed by the increase in migration controls-previously mentioned-, the increase
in the number of people waiting at the border to enter the United States20, amongst others.
Moreover, the Mexicans that move to the United States seeking international
protection are not being acknowledged under this right; although as part of the CBPOne
application the Mexican population may apply, the number of people accepted is lower
than the ones applying, failing to protect the people that are fleeing their countries and
putting their lives at stake if they are denied access.

As observed, the diversity of regularization forms that have been developed in the countries
above have not been enough to guarantee the protection and the access to rights of
refugees, migrants and forcefully displaced people of different nationalities that are in the
territory. This shows there are big gaps that should alert the States of Peru, Venezuela,
Ecuador, Colombia; Mexico which are obliged to protect them.

‚   ƒ  ƒ 

 ƒ  ƒ  
   ƒ     ƒ 
    

The protection of migrant, refugee and internally displaced girls, boys and adolescents
must be considered a key element within the regulations of the countries of the region.
However, it has been evident in the region that children and adolescents continue to be
unprotected, especially due to the relationship between regularization processes and the
possibility of their rights being fully guaranteed. Likewise, this is one of the groups that
has endured the most violence on the migratory pathways of the Americas.

20
More information at: https://www.animalpolitico.com/analisis/organizaciones/en-todo-amar-y-servir/que-sigue-
despues-del-titulo-42


      

One of the first regional challenges is the acknowledgment of the immigration status
and its corresponding international protection, which has effects on access and
guarantee of other rights. An example of this is that unaccompanied girls, boys, and
adolescents experience great obstacles to seeking international protection, given that the
causes of their migration are not recognized either within the Cartagena Declaration or
by the Geneva Convention. (Paris Pombo, 2022). This population is subject to challenges
when submitting their asylum request in Mexico or the United States, not only for the lack
legal and material support, but also the lack of clear and differentiated routes to promptly
address these cases. This has meant that many of them endure violation of rights in
detention centers for migrants or they are returned to their country of origin, despite
the fact that the risks and violence that motivate their departure persist.

In the case of Ecuador, girls, boys, and adolescents accompanied by one of the parents face
barriers in their regularization process: the father or mother must have a special power or
parental authority of the minor to be able to complete the regularization process. On
the other hand, in earlier times, the Venezuelan Consulate used to deliver the Single Data
Registry, which was considered as equivalent to an identity document that could be
submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador. Currently, the
Consulate is no longer issuing it, creating another challenge for the regularization process.

Added to this is the high price of the Venezuelan passport, which makes it impossible for
many people to access this document. This is a necessary requirement for the regulariza-
tion process in Ecuador and for some processes in the educational system. Furthermore, it
is necessary to mention that there are cases where applications for International Protection
have been denied, which is why people file appeals or reviews. Since this process takes a
long time, many people opt for other regularization alternatives, but find a dead end, given
that in the in the internal system of the Chancellery -ISIGEX- they are registered as
refugee applicants, and this does not allow them to apply to another immigration
status. With regard to the protection of unaccompanied or separated children and
adolescents, it should be noted that in Ecuador there is a rule that allows their
regularization process: “Care procedure for girls, boys, adolescents and their families in
forced displaced contexts in Ecuador” of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry.

In Colombia, with the new implementation of the form for the refugee status
determination procedure many access processes that grant shelter for children may be
affected, since this form is not easy to understand by children, and there are also difficulties
in the inclusion of minors as beneficiaries. Besides, in regions like Buenaventura, the
number of minors at risk of statelessness persists, derived from the inefficiency of the
State in not acknowledging midwives from ethnic groups as people who can certify births
and - consequently – they cannot register in the civil registry as there is no clear evidence to
prove they were born in the country.

In Peru, the gap in access to documentation for children and adolescents is due to the fact
that it is not a prioritized population group for the regularization of their immigration
status. Therefore, the only options to access documentary regularization are special
immigration qualities: the special resident migratory status and the migratory status for
training purposes. The special resident immigration status can be granted in a situation of


  

lack of protection for a child or when they are unaccompanied. Likewise, immigration status
for training purposes is given to those who are studying. However, it is important to warn
that there are no other clear routes to guarantee the protection of the rights of minors.

These processes of regularization of girls, boys and adolescents in the region have led to
difficulties to access, remain or be promoted in educational institutions. In Venezuela,
refugee, migrant and internally displaced children and adolescents have -formally- access
to human rights in all areas, but there is an obstacle in the documentation regarding the
right to education, because the daughters and sons of people in this situation They do not
have the formal documents issued by the Venezuelan State that allow the
corresponding accreditation or certification. This has prevented them from continuing
their formal studies in Venezuela due to this obstacle.

In Ecuador, adolescents who are in their last school year and who are in an irregular
immigration situation are required a passport to be granted the document that certifies
study completion. Many times, these people do not have this document or any other
identification document, which hinders the guarantee of their right to education.

In Colombia as demonstrated by the “Fronteras de Papel” report, there are currently no

formal barriers for Venezuelan children and adolescents access education, nor for access to
regularization. However, there are some material obstacles in the rights of minors, such as
the same decentralization of the State, which makes an effective redistribution of
rights in rural contexts impossible. In Peru, access to education for children and
adolescents is another challenge, since there are no vacancies available in educational
institutions, despite the fact that the Peruvian state does not require that children and
adolescents submit any type of documentation to access the Peruvian educational system.
Those who are already part of an educational institution must face the challenge of
xenophobia, bullying and discrimination.

As for the violence that children and adolescents have experienced in the region it is
important to highlight those related to armed conflict. In the Colombian case, this
situation is even more alarming, considering that the State only allows access to the Single
Registry of Victims to migrants who have a valid document to be in the country, as well as
proof that indicates that at the time of the victimizing event they were in the country. This
situation has generated obstacles in the access to the rights of minors when they are
subjected to this type of victimizing procedures.

Finally, given the risks experienced by accompanied and unaccompanied girls, boys, and
adolescents in migratory stations in Mexico, a lawsuit to guarantee their stay in more
protective spaces, was won, which meant they get to stay in spaces with more
guarantees. However, there have been reports of detentions of minors in immigration
stations. The sum of all these circumstances generates great alarm regarding the realities
that children and adolescents experience in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.


      

‚     

   

Although Latin America and the Caribbean has made significant progress in protecting the
rights of indigenous peoples and nationalities, in recent years, the blend of migratory
processes and the historical movements of these communities has generated a
challenge for their protection by the States of the region, since these movements are not
deemed from the worldview of the ancestral peoples, but from a state-centric view that
limits mobility between states.

This is seen, for example, in Colombia with the Indigenous communities Yukpa and
Eñapa, that have not been recognized as “binational” communities from Colombia and
Venezuela. Although the Colombian Political Constitution contemplates the right to
nationality for binational peoples, the reality is that Colombia has not ratified any
agreement with another country that facilitates the procedure. This situation has made
access and recognition of the right to nationality an even more cumbersome and uncertain
process. Even though binational peoples should obtain such recognition, in practice they
have chosen procedures such as the Temporary Protection Permit, which allows them to
access the offer of rights in the Colombian State, going against the protection of their rights
as ancestral communities.

The situation also becomes complex regarding the information and completion of
nationality and immigration regularization procedures. Currently, these procedures are
written and explained in Spanish, a language that not all binational communities use. On
the other hand, within the communities accompanied in Colombia, inadequate procedures
have been identified by institutional authorities to explain the different instruments and
mechanisms, which has made effective access to said instruments by the population
impossible.

In Peru there are regulations regarding Indigenous peoples. However, there are challenges
in its application. In this sense, the main barriers are in:

Education: At the primary and secondary level there are few bilingual schools in each of
the communities. There are few people from Indigenous communities who manage to
pursue higher education due to limited geographic access and incentives to pursue
studies.

Territory: The communities are in constant struggle to defend their territories against
the scourges of drug trafficking, land traffickers and extractive activities that put them at
risk.

Health: Some communities have health posts, but medical personnel are limited in the
face of great needs.


  

In Venezuela there is the Ministry of Popular Power for Indigenous Peoples, a body that
promotes the strengthening of Indigenous communities in the country. However, many
Indigenous peoples claim to live in abandonment by the Venezuelan State. It is important
to highlight that in Venezuelan territory there are diverse “binational” peoples which, as in
the Colombian case, they have not found easy access to the recognition of their
nationalities.

The Indigenous community Wayuu, located between Venezuela and Colombia, have free
transit between both countries, but when seeking health care, they seek support in
Colombia, due to the lack of supplies and care in Venezuelan health centers.

The Indigenous community Yukpa located in the State of Zulia, in Venezuela, has been
displaced from their territories to guarantee access to food and medical care. They have
arrived at urban areas from the Sierra de Perijá, a place where they live alongside the
Indigenous ethnic group Añú, and they have also settled in areas of the department of
Norte de Santander, in Colombia.

Like the Yukpa people, members of the Warao and Yanomami, in the southern part of the
country, have moved to Brazil, specifically to the state of Roraima, for the reasons
mentioned above.

In Mexico groups of Indigenous cross-border agricultural workers who have been

accompanied by the JRS office in Comalapa (southern border), as they have experienced
lack of protection of human rights due to violence in the area, forced recruitment and
forced disappearances. This has limited their mobility due to work issues. On the other
hand, the case of the Indigenous group Mizquitos -from Honduras- who are arriving in
21
Mexico21 and have left their territory due to the violence inflicted by criminal groups, due
to climatic factors that are affecting their territory - such as floods and fires - and due to the
lack of opportunities to have a decent life. Although there is no exact record of what these
people are experiencing, it is important to warn about the lack of protection of rights that is
being evident not having differential actions from an intercultural perspective to
accompany and protect them.

On the other hand, at the Colombian-Ecuadorian border, Indigenous communities have

been internally displaced due to oil exploitation and the effects on the environment, which
they consider their home and an essential part of their worldview. Faced with this, they have
been forced to move towards the borders, where the lack of a clear policy has led to
decontextualized responses that ignore their ethnic identity.

In the town community Awá -which is located on the Ecuadorian side of the border- one of
the problems is the presence of informal mining, administered by groups associated with
drug trafficking. Mining agents outside the law promote a precarious economy, offering
families jobs such as cutting down forests and opening roads; but not all families are
considered, which generates internal conflicts and the breakdown of the social and
political fabric. This prevents an adequate good organizational management for the

21
More information at: https://process.hn/comunidades-vacias-retratan-migracion-de-indigenas-de-honduras/


      

defense of their territories. These complexities are deepened for geographical reasons,
since where these communities are located, the terrain does not allow easy entry and, in
addition, they are controlled by irregular armed groups.

Regarding the community Éperara Siapidaara, which is located in Ecuador, the small size
of its territory has been subject to invasion threats by the settler population. In addition,
they have high rates of poverty due to institutional abandonment, which is seen in lack of
basic services, quality and access to education, pollution of the main river, a space for
women interaction.

There are many Éperara Siapidaara people, originally from Colombia, who have the
expectation of acquiring the Ecuadorian nationality because they are “binational” people,
however the Éperara Siapidaara leadership considers that they are vulnerable ethnic
minority group, not considered by the State.

The protection of Indigenous peoples - and their own leaders - is also limited. The
vulnerability they experience increases in the face of continuous threats due to the defense
of their territories. In this situation, States have not provided the corresponding protec-
tion measures to all people. These findings and others related to Indigenous communities
in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru can be explored on the microsite “Vidas y territories en
movimiento. Resistencia de diez comunidades indígenas en Colombia, Ecuador, y Perú”:
https://lac.jrs.net/vidasyterritorios/

 †   

The regional panorama around refugees, migrants, and internally displaced people
extends beyond the challenges; there are opportunities that must be considered so to
create regional strategies for lasting solutions. At JRS we understand reconciliation as an
option to “reunite what was broken”, aimed at the promotion of fair relationships at the
people and community level that were fragmented by violence and forced displacement,
and with the JRS and Encuentros SJM Peru teams, so that their life projects are developed
within a framework of hospitality, respect, dignity and guarantees of rights; generating
political, social, cultural, environmental and spiritual conditions that promote the culture of
encounter and help overcome cycles of violence.

In light of this, this section presents various reconciliation and hospitality initiatives that can
guide some of the regional strategies mentioned. First of all, the reconciliation network
created in the La Vega neighborhood in the city of Caracas, Venezuela, where preventive
reconciliation has facilitated community transformation from women, especially in the face
of the high polarization that is happening in this country. The Andrés Bello Catholic
University, the Santa Inés Health Center, the Educational Network, community leaders,
soup kitchen leaders, and the Parish have converged in this reconciliation network. To learn
more about this experience and other reconciliation experiences in the region, we invite
you to visit the “Reconciliation-es” microsite: https://lac.jrs.net/reconciliaciones/


  

Furthermore, in the JRS local offices in Venezuela - Caracas Centro, Táchira, and
Zulia - workshops have been implemented in host communities on hospitality in human
mobility processes, culture of peace, conflict resolution and reconciliation. Recreational
spaces have also been created, like a cultural caravan, to promote hospitality through art.
The JRS office in Táchira works in alliance with the Department of Art and Culture of the
Catholic University of Táchira.

For its part, the Cultural Caravan for Hospitality, promoted by the Jesuit Network with
Migrants, has been accompanied by JRS Venezuela as it passed through the country,
visiting the border states of Táchira, Apure, Zulia, and the city of Caracas with the purpose of
bringing a message of hope, hospitality, reconciliation and strengthening the teams'
capacities in these topics and experiences.

In Ecuador, this has been done through psychological workshops focused on

reconciliation and hospitality with the host population. In the Province of Carchi, through
the rights protection workshops for the National Police, it was possible to raise awareness
and approach police officers so that they respect and promote respect for the rights of the
population in situations of forced human mobility.

In a similar way to what was done in Tapachula, in Ecuador spaces called “sorority
groups” that work with migrant, refugee, internally displaced women and reception and
host communities to promote awareness and integration by addressing issues and
experiences of a culture of peace and reconciliation.

In Perú the Encuentros SJM Perú team did the Hospitality Caravan: the journey was
through Lima and Piura to promote the culture of welcome and encounter between the
Encuentros teams and to strengthen support for migrants, refugees, and internally
displaced people.

In Mexico, specifically on the northern border, the JRS territorial team in Ciudad Juárez
has accompanied the families and survivors of the people who died in the fire inside
the immigration detention center in March, seeking to accompany the process of healing
wounds, seek truth and - if they want it - psychosocial support and legal help to seek
recognition under the Humanitarian Parole in the United States.

In Tapachula activities have been developed focused on meetings, information, and

cultural diversity, making visible the presence of refugees and asylum seekers in the
region and the opportunity of building with them a fairer society. These meetings also
aim to strengthen relations with authorities and civil society.

There have also been actions to take care of mother earth strengthening the joint work
between migrants, refugees, and residents by cleaning the beaches near the city. Likewise,
the Mia project which aims to build networks, entrepreneurship, and integration with
principles of sisterhood between impoverished Mexican women and migrant and refugee
women.


      

In Colombia tools for reconciliation have been developed22 in the territories, as well as the
implementation of Hospitality Caravans, which seek to provide information and facilitate
the appropriation of diverse experiences in the communities. These Caravans have been
held in Magdalena Medio, Norte de Santander, Nariño, Soacha and Ibague.

Finally, we are aware that the region and those who travel through it require us to deepen
and learn from their reconciliatory and hospitable experiences. For this reason, the
promotion of spaces for learning and reflection around reconciliation, where various
organizations and works of the Society of Jesus, other civil society organizations and
- especially - organizations of migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons and
people participate. In these situations, those who have accompanied reconciliatory and
hospitable initiatives, becoming encounters, living together and communion teachers.

22
To delve deeper into these tools: https://col.jrs.net/es/herramientas-pedagogicas/


  

     ‡  ˆ

To learn more about regional and country realities, the following published documents are
available:


1. Ciudadanía cancelada, derechos arrebatados

2. Fronteras de papel

3. Estrategia de incidencia para la garantía del derecho a la educación de niños, niñas y

adolescentes venezolanos (as) no escolarizados: en el área metropolitana de
Bucaramanga – Santander


1. Guía de búsqueda de migrantes desaparecidos

2. Informe del ejercicio de caracterización del desplazamiento interno en Chihuahua 2023

ú
1. Diagnóstico situación población venezolana y condición educativa de niños, niñas y
adolescentes en la frontera sur del Perú

2. La respuesta estatal a los desafíos de regularización y la atención de la salud mental

3. Ser venezolano/a en el Perú: un acercamiento a la respuesta del Estado peruano

4. Evaluación rápida de las necesidades de protección en Tacna, Perú (abril, 2023)

   

1. Vidas y territorios en Movimiento
2. Monitoreos humanitarios fronterizos Arauca


 




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