The number of Venezuelans migrating to Colombia does not stop, even with the pandemic. In the last two months of 2020 and despite the closure of the border, the government specified that more than 18,000 were intercepted while walking on the road. And among those who have already crossed, they calculate that more than half are undocumented and most will certainly never live in Venezuela again. These factors set a perfect tide for Iván Duque’s government to decide to access a temporary statute of protection (ETP) that would separate them from an impending deportation, as well as regularize that diaspora.
The measure does not give them nationality, But analysts from that country applaud it, even if it was taken at a time when the Colombian economy is trying to lift itself from the historic contraction of 2020, encouraged by the Covid-19 crisis. They think so will enable the first real registration of Venezuelan immigrants in Latin America, where an estimated 4.6 million people have moved: 37% of them to Colombia. In addition, it will provide them with documentation, a limited process in Venezuela due to the difficulties and corruption of accessing something as basic as a passport.
“No country in the world is ready to tackle a migration phenomenon like the one Colombia is dealing with” with the mass arrival of Venezuelans, analyzes Ronal Rodríguez, political scientist and researcher at the Venezuela Observatory of the Universidad del Rosario, one of the organizations that has further explored the Venezuelan flight. “The real value of the measure is this It is a situation that has no possibility of containment and that is best to gradually structure a route to regularization that enables those citizens to feel rather persecuted and limited in the Colombian state, as they become part of the Colombian international community and can participate in economic development. “
Until now, Colombia had only given Venezuelans a special residence permit, known as a PEP, which gave them permission to stay for two years. María Clara Robayo, another Observatory researcher, believes that time was too short to set up a life project and explains that she has faced obstacles for Venezuelans to open a bank account, for example. “Measures with a larger time scale were needed”, Dice.
And when the spectrum is opened up and the migration response to this diaspora is seen from other countries in the region, Robayo criticizes the fact that there is a “conventional response” and not one with a “humanitarian perspective”. As an example, he cites Chile, which militarized its border with Bolivia to stop irregular crossings by Venezuelans and stopped issuing visas for them. “There must be a component to protect a population in need of international protection. There must be a migration management component that seeks to integrate that population, bearing in mind that the migrants will not return to Venezuela. “
Other examples
Countries such as the United States have adopted temporary protected status (TPS) for tens of thousands of citizens of countries experiencing armed conflict or natural disasters, such as Syria or Haiti, respectively. It has been doing this since the 1990s. Although it grants them a permit to work, the benefit has never considered moving to residency or the ability to permanently legalize their immigration status. To take that step, human rights groups, Democrats in Congress, and President Joe Biden himself are pushing to pass a law that will lead to the green card (permanent residence).
The same happened with Turkey when it pursued an open-door policy with Syrians fleeing the war. She implemented a policy of temporary shelter, expecting the conflict to end, she identified them, she gave them access to social services and the labor market, but she did not propose a path to permanent residence.
The Colombian approach is different and yes considering a path to permanent residence, specifically for Venezuelans and after spending 10 years in the country under the statute. Robayo assures that the Colombian model should not be considered “the best in the world”. It would be if after that the government were to consider “deeper integrations involving nationality”, but so far it has not been planned.
The plebiscite on Colombian status ended on 23 February. The process for its implementation is under construction, regulations describing each step are still missing. The decree barely gave it a name and gave a hint of what it will be. Here we answer some questions with the information known so far:
