By MANUEL RUEDA and ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday that it has begun expelling Venezuelan migrants to Colombia without a chance to seek asylum after entering the United States from Mexico, its latest use of pandemic-related authority.
The development also was confirmed by Colombian officials.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it will expel Venezuelans to Colombia “on a regular basis,” without elaborating on the frequency. They will be limited to Venezuelans who previously resided in Colombia, it said.
The first two Venezuelans were expelled Thursday after entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico, U.S. and Colombian officials said. Colombia’s immigration agency said they were on a commercial flight.
Homeland Security said it acted after discussions with the Colombian government. Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry did not immediately respond to questions.
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a meeting was held in December to discuss the possibility of receiving Venezuelan deportees who had already been granted temporary residency in Colombia.
It said there was no specific figure on how many Venezuelans would be sent to Colombia, but both sides agreed that the operation would be conducted “with the coordination” of both countries and “following health and safety protocols.”
The move is a response to a rising number of Venezuelans seeking refuge in the United States as their South American country unravels.
In December, U.S. authorities encountered Venezuelans crossing the Mexican border illegally nearly 25,000 times, the second highest nationality after Mexicans. The number was more than double that of only three months earlier and up from only about 200 the previous year.
Crossings were concentrated in the Border Patrol’s Yuma, Arizona and Del Rio, Texas sectors. About 15,000 migrants, mostly Haitians, assembled in Del Rio, a town of 35,000 people, in September. Venezuelans typically arrive by plane in Mexicali, Mexico before crossing at nearby Yuma.
Mexico began requiring visas of Venezuelans on January 21, following similar restrictions imposed last year on Brazilians and Ecuadorians in response to large numbers of migrants headed to the U.S. border.
It remains unclear if the travel restrictions will lead to a drop in Venezuelan migrants reaching the U.S. border. The number of Ecuadorian migrants plummeted last year under the new visa requirement, while the flow of Brazilians has continued.
Since March 2020, the U.S. has expelled migrants at the Mexican border without an opportunity to seek asylum under what is known as Title 42 authority, named for a 1944 public law that was invoked to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Mexico has agreed to accept migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, but those from other countries are often allowed to remain in the United States to seek asylum because the U.S. lacks detention space or resources to expel them under Title 42 authority.
Olga Byrne, director of immigration matters for the International Rescue Committee, criticized the action.
“Despite commitments announced by the U.S. Administration in the first 100 days, harmful policies like Title 42 are still in place more than one year after taking office,” she said in a statement. “Title 42 expulsions deprive asylum seekers of due process, instead sending them back to dangerous conditions, similar if not worse to those they escaped. In certain cases, they send them to third countries, like Colombia, that for years have stepped up to welcome Venezuelan asylum seekers.”
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Associated Press writer Manuel Rueda reported this story in Bogota and AP writer Elliot Spagat reported from San Diego.
[…] recent days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia without giving them a chance to ask for relief, a move condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] recent days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia without giving them a chance to ask for relief, a move condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] recent days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia without giving them a chance to ask for relief, a move condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] recent days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia without giving them a chance to ask for relief, a move condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] current days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia with out giving them an opportunity to ask for aid, a transfer condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] latest days, the Biden administration has also deported Venezuelan asylum-seekers to Colombia with out giving them an opportunity to ask for aid, a transfer condemned by Sen. Robert […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] México solo ha accedido a recibir familias mexicanas, guatemaltecas, hondureñas y salvadoreñas y adultos solteros que se encuentran en la frontera sur, dejando a los venezolanos, junto con otras nacionalidades, en el limbo. La política ha obligado a EE. UU. a llevar a venezolanos de regreso a su país o en algunos casos a Colombia. […]
[…] México solo ha accedido a recibir familias mexicanas, guatemaltecas, hondureñas y salvadoreñas y adultos solteros que se encuentran en la frontera sur, dejando a los venezolanos, junto con otras nacionalidades, en el limbo. La política ha obligado a EE. UU. a llevar a venezolanos de regreso a su país o en algunos casos a Colombia. […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] Mexico has only agreed to take Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran families and single adults encountered at the southern border, leaving Venezuelans, along with other nationalities, in limbo. The policy has forced the U.S. to fly Venezuelans back to their country or in some cases to Colombia. […]
[…] US Title 42 Policy to Expel Migrants at the Border". Human Rights Watch. [8] Supra 6. [9] US Expels Venezuelan Migrants to Colombia Under Title 42 Powers [10] Court injunction to prevent end of Title 42 will continue to endanger thousands fleeing harm […]