The Colombian Government, together with the American, announced that a Latin American conference will be convened for the first quarter of 2023 to address the challenge posed by the migration in the hemisphere and “establish some rules of the game“.
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“In the first quarter of 2023 we will hold a Latin American continental conference that will deal with migration to establish rules that will be mandatory for all“, said Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva, in a joint statement with the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who visited the country.
Despite the fact that Leyva stressed that it will be a Latin American conference, Mayorkas assured that the idea is “get everyone together and make sure everyone participates to develop a solution to what is called a collective challenge“.
“We have to respect the human rights of individuals seeking refuge and at the same time we have to comply with the laws of our respective countries.“said Mayorkas, who added that they are looking for”protecting people and at the same time creating an opportunity for them to stay in the countries where they are and build a successful and prosperous life“.
(See: They launch a fund for US$1.720 million to attend Venezuelan migration).
Mayorkas arrived in Colombia from Ecuador on an Andean visit in which he sought to delve into hea cooperation to tackle irregular immigration through the Darién, after the signing of the Los Angeles Declaration on migration in June 2022 during the Summit of the Americas.
This announcement comes at the end of a year in which all records have been broken for people who have crossed the dangerous Darien jungle, which separates Colombia and Panama, towards the United States.
Between January and November 2022, according to the Panamanian authorities, they have passed through the Darien Gap (where migrants have to walk for more than five days through a mountainous jungle full of criminal gangs) almost 228,000 people, of which almost 150,000 are Venezuelans.
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Migration flows, which exceeded 48,000 people in September, have fallen sharply in recent months, after the United States Government announced a new immigration policy on October 12, according to which all Venezuelans who enter that country having crossed illegally across the border of Mexico and Panama, will be expelled to Mexican territory.
In addition, those expelled will be excluded from the program through which the United States will give legal status for two years to 24,000 Venezuelans that they arrive by plane and with sponsors.
Hundreds of migrants try to cross the Darien jungle to enter Central America.
On the other hand, Unicef warned, on November 19, that between January and October 2022, 32,488 minors, a new historical figure, crossed the Darién, 10% more than last year. Half of them were less than 5 years old.
(See: 62% of Venezuelan migrants plan to stay indefinitely).
The dangerous jungle of the Darién has been, for decades, a route used by people from all over the world who travel irregularly to the United States, despite theThe serious dangers that it entails due to its wild environment and by the presence of organized crime groups.
EFE
