Migration in Latin America in 2021 observed historical deviations never seen before, mainly due to unprecedented volumes of population movements, ethnic diversity, and the number of crossing borders. In the picture, a group of Latin American migrants are detained at the famous Rio Grande frontier between Mexico and Texas, a highly sought crossing point from Mexico. Most of these people do not make it to the US.
El Político
The result of a journalistic investigation by Euronews, carried out in the Mexican town of Chiapas, begins by focusing on a retrospective view of migration. It is possible to observe that population movements in Latin America have been recurrent. Always at the rhythm of the various crises.
But this time the current phenomenon is unprecedented. Among other episodes by the waves of Haitians crossing the dangerous Colombian jungle of Darien. And Venezuelans risking their lives in the inhospitable Atacama desert to try to make their way into Chile, or even trying to cross the Rio Grande in the US southern border.
Furthermore: the movements staged in the extreme south of Mexico and on the route between Necoclí, in Colombia, and Bajo Chiquito, in Panama, through the Darien jungle. Much further south, the Chilean city of Iquique, where the rejection of Venezuelan immigrants erupted this year with unusual violence and xenophobia.
Se agudiza la crisis migratoria en América Latina
Miles de haitianos y venezolanos se encuentran varados en México, Panamá y Chile.
Las autoridades piden a los migrantes que no arriesguen su vida por el sueño de llegar a EE.UU.#DWNoticias /cmw pic.twitter.com/XVnwzoMwe4
With the increasing diversity and complexity of migration through the Americas, how are countries from Brazil to the US responding? And what role should regional cooperation play?
Latest insight for our Latin America & Caribbean #MigrationPortal examineshttps://t.co/lKZjdhodZJ pic.twitter.com/0KPnlwoHKO
— MigrationPolicy Inst (@MigrationPolicy) December 21, 2021
Unprecedented migration
As never in the past, Mexican authorities had Aztecs arrested so many people in an irregular situation. They are estimated at more than 228 thousand until October. Border, Navy, Army and National Guard agents intervened in the operations. The number of asylum applications also reached their all-time highs.
The heavy-handed policy of the Mexican government is reflected above all in Tapachula, Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala. There, the migrants by the thousands remain literally trapped. The authorities prevent them from leaving until they resolve their immigration status. But the processes go on forever without official answers.
Activist groups denounce that Tapachula became an open-air prison. And of this situation, they accuse the Mexican authorities of using the exhaustion strategy so that both Haitians and Central Americans desist from their intentions.
On the other side of the northern border, in the United States, the situation is similar. To date, US customs authorities have intercepted 1.7 million people in an irregular situation, tripling the figures from previous years. The presidential arrival of Joe Biden sowed false hopes, generating an avalanche of immigration towards the United States.
Incredulous migration
In advance, the dimensions of the problem were smaller. This time they lobbied for the Biden and López Obrador governments to end the year by resurrecting the controversial “Stay in Mexico,” a Trump-era program. It obliges asylum seekers to remain on the Mexican side until it is resolved on a case-by-case basis. The waiting has no end.
Long before reaching Mexico, thousands of migrants, mainly Haitians and Venezuelans, travel a fearsome route. This is located between the Colombian town of Necoclí and the Panamanian village of Bajo Chiquito, crossing the Gulf of Urabá and the dangerous Darién jungle. It is estimated that on the streets of Necoclí about 20 migrants await the opportunity to pass a ferry or an informal boat to help them cross the gulf.
The migrants who lived the experience of traveling through Brazil, Peru, Ecuador or Chile, must now cross the Darien jungle, with their children and their few belongings in tow. It is a jungle full of wild animals and criminal organizations.
The bombardment of migrants throughout Latin America continues from Venezuela. It is estimated that 5.6 million people have already left the country, due to violence, poverty, and misrule. Haiti also generates waves of people desperate to flee. The other major focus continues to be Central America, but the faces of the phenomenon are increasingly diverse. And it is not uncommon to meet groups of Asians or Africans.
Source: Euronews
