February 17, 2023
Hemispheric Migration: Transnational Challenges Require Transnational Solutions
RUNNING NUMBERS BY CRISTOBAL RAMÓN
REUTERS
The movement of Venezuelans across the Western Hemisphere highlights the need for regional coordination.
Last fall, the US Department of Homeland Security reported that Border Patrol agents had 2.7 million encounters with individuals arriving at the US-Mexico border in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, the highest number since FY 2000. While Central American migrants continued to arrive at the border in high numbers, increased migration among Cubans, Nicaraguans, and, most importantly, Venezuelans, contributed to this year’s high number of encounters.
The case of Venezuela in 2022 shows how instability in one country can affect the entire Western Hemisphere through migrant flows and highlights the need for a regional approach to managing irregular migration. In fact, the increase in Venezuelan arrivals to the US-Mexico border is an extension of one of the most significant large-scale movement of migrants in the world. Since 2015, 7.1 million Venezuelans have left their country due to a combination of democratic backsliding and rising economic insecurity. While some Venezuelans have migrated directly to the United States, neighboring countries served as the primary destination for these individuals.
Why More Venezuelans Now Travel through Central America to Reach the United States
Two factors in 2021 combined to create the conditions that pushed Venezuelans to migrate to the US-Mexico border in large numbers. First, the worsening economic downturn in South American countries like Ecuador pushed Venezuelans who initially fled to these countries to migrate further to the United States to seek protection or economic stability.
https://globalaffairs.org/commentary-and-analysis/blogs/hemispheric-migration-transnational-challenges-require-transnational
