JUNE 2022
RECENT MIGRATION
TRENDS IN THE
AMERICAS
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Research team: Ignacio Bustinza, Sofía Arce, Andrea Ortiz, Mark McCarthy and inputs form country oces in the
Americas and from the Oce of the Director General’s Special Envoy (OSE).
Cover photo: Puerto Limón, Panama Migrants from all over the world dreaming of US arrive extenuated in Puerto Limón
after braving dangerous Darien Gap. © IOM March 2022 / Gema CORTES.
© IOM 2022
Required citation: International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2022. Recent Migration Trends in the Americas. IOM,
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RECENT MIGRATION
TRENDS IN THE
AMERICAS
JUNE 2022
iv
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report seeks to inform the discussions at the Summit of the
Americas in June 2022 by providing background on migration on the
continent and in particular recent dynamics pending data availability.
The Global Compact of Migration recognized in the objective 1 the
need to collect and utilize accurate and disaggregated data as a basis
for evidence-based policies and interventions which guarantee that
migration takes in a safe, orderly and regular manner. Data are the
foundation for designing evidence-based public policies, informing
public discourse, monitoring and evaluating implementation of
commitments over time and developing concrete actions which
maximize the benets of migration.
As of mid-2020, several countries in the Americas hosted
important numbers of immigrants, in particular in Northern
America, with the highest number of international migrants
worldwide residing in the United States, as well as South
America. Various countries on the continent have experienced
signicant emigration, notably in Central American and the
Caribbean. Intra-regional migration is high in South America,
demonstrating that the region also accounts for a considerable
number of emigrants that have moved to other countries or
outside the region (UN DESA, 2020). At the same time, the
United States – Mexico border is the deadliest land border
worldwide (IOM MMP, 2021), underlining the need to ensure
that migration takes place in a safe, orderly and regular manner.
Both immigrants and emigrants played and continue to play
an important role in the response to and recovery from
the COVID-19 pandemic and make contributions to human
development more generally in societies in destination countries
and origin communities, despite often having been the most
aected by the public health emergency
In terms of vulnerability, as of early May 2022, more than 5
million Venezuelan refugees and migrants were hosted by other
countries on the continent, mostly in South America (R4V,
2022). According to indications from IOM´s Displacement
Tracking Matrix (DTM)
1
data in Chile, the main transit route
from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereafter Venezuela)
to Chile is via the Andean corridor. However, routes on the
continent continue to be dynamic.
Drivers of migration, such as poverty, inequality, slow economic
growth, lack of decent jobs, labour market needs in destination
countries, political instability, the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, natural disasters, environmental degradation,
climate change, violence, human rights violations, insecurity,
and family ties continue to push migrants to move elsewhere
on the continent or immigrate to the Americas from other
regions. Due to border closures, visa requirements and lack
of documentation, public health requirements and a general
lack of regular pathways for some nationalities, many migrants
from within the continent and others, traverse borders on
the continent irregularly. Crossings across the Darien gap
between Colombia and Panama spiked in 2021 to an all-time
high (nearly 134,000) compared to the past decade (nearly
118,000), predominantly by Haitians and Cubans and children
of Haitians (SNM, 2022a). In 2022 irregular entries into Panama
via this dangerous jungle stretch continue, but with Venezuelan
refugees and migrants representing the majority who then tend
to transit via Central America to the North. Other current
routes include migrants from the Caribbean directly moving via
Central American countries such as Nicaragua and Honduras.
Such journeys pose high protection risks and increase migrants’
vulnerability. These transit movements pose challenges for
migration governance that can only be addressed in a holistic,
gender-responsive regional approach, ensuring the protection of
the rights of migrants and in particular of the most vulnerable,
including children and LGBTIQ+ persons. In response to
movements of Venezuelans in particular, many countries in Latin
America have created regularization programmes and are using
existing regional agreements or exceptional visa categories. The
latter also applies to migrants from countries such as Haiti,
Cuba and Ukraine.
1
The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a modular system that IOM uses to capture, process and disseminate information on human mobility, routes and places of displacement,
the degree of vulnerability and the main needs of protection of these populations.
Ecuadorians returning to their country due to the crisis in Ukraine | @ IOM Ramiro AGUILAR, Ecuador, 2022
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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v
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. General overview 1
Migrant deaths and disappearances 3
2. Recent key trends in the region 3
Venezuelan refugees and migrants 4
Data available by country of destination / transit 5
Brazil 5
Chile 6
Peru 7
Ecuador 8
Colombia 8
Crossing via the Darién Gap: Colombia – Panama Border 9
Risks and vulnerabilities during the journey via the Darién Gap 10
Paso Canoas Border, Panama-Costa Rica 11
Costa Rica-Nicaragua 11
Nicaragua-Honduras 11
Tapachula, Mexico 12
Mexico 13
Returns 14
Haiti – forced returns statistics 14
Returns to countries of northern Central America 15
United States Southwest Land Border Encounters 15
3. Regular Pathways 16
Visas and permits granted in South America 16
Visas and permits granted in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean 18
Permanent Resident Cards (Green cards) 18
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) 18
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 19
Migrant Workers in the United States and Canada 19
H2A Temporary Agricultural Program in the United States 19
H2B Temporary Non-agricultural Program in the United States 20
Regional Visitor Card (TVR) in Mexico 20
CARICOM and OECS 20
4. Migrants’ contribution to sustainable development 21
COVID-19 pandemic 21
Remittances 21
Diasporas 22
5. Climate and environmental change as a driver of human mobility 24
Bibliography 25
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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1
INTRODUCTION
Migration in the region takes place in a context marked by deep
historical, political, economic and social ties between countries,
signicant internal and intraregional socioeconomic disparities,
political instability, insecurity, and violence in some countries,
as well as severe and frequent natural hazards compounded by
slow-onset environmental changes. The COVID-19 pandemic,
the restrictions on international and domestic mobility, socio-
economic consequences and health risks have led to changes in
human mobility patterns, accelerating existing ones and raising
new challenges for migration governance in the Americas.
Governments and authorities have implemented primarily route
restrictions which limit the entry of travelers arriving from,
transiting through or having been to specied countries or other
territories. Visa requirements modied by governments also
aected international mobility in the Americas (IOM; MPI, 2022a).
At the same time, migrants have been key parts of the response to
the COVID-19 pandemic and make important contributions during
the recovery as well as to human development more generally.
Inequality, political crises, insecurity, and instability in the region
and globally as well as natural disasters continue to impact
countries on the continent, representing important push
factors. Recent increases in ination in Latin America and the
Caribbean in 2021 not seen since the global nancial crisis in
2008 (ECLAC, 2022a) 2 and food insecurity (Idem; FAO, 2022)
continue to add to existing drivers of mobility and are expected
to rise further in the next months. Over the past 2.5 years, the
migration of Venezuelan nationals to South American countries,
albeit at a slower pace than in previous years, continued: as of
April 2020, around 4.3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants
were recorded in Latin America, according to data from the
Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants
from Venezuela (R4V), while by April 2022 there were more
than 5 million, representing an increase of almost 20 per cent
within two years. The actual gure may well be higher (R4V,
2022). Changes in mobility in the region include the return of
Venezuelans to their country of origin, where, as of December
2021, almost 28,000 Venezuelans had returned according to
ocial gures (Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Aairs
of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 2021). In the case of
these returns, it is not known how many returnees plan to stay
or are leaving again.
On the other hand, it is worth mentioning the sharp increase
in irregular crossings by Caribbean, South American and
extra-continental migrants via the Colombia-Panama border
through the Darién gap with the intention of reaching North
America, reaching record levels in 2021, representing serious
risks and threats to their physical integrity and human rights
(SNM, 2022a).
This report aims to provide an overview of migration and
mobility trends in the Americas as of May 2022, highlighting key
overall dynamics and spotlighting more recent ones, to inform
discussions at the Ninth Summit of the Americas in June 2022. It
does not claim to be comprehensive but hopes to provide existing
and updated data and information to support policy discussions.
The rst section provides a general overview based on
internationally comparable estimates available, for mid-
2020. Section two focuses on more recent trends including
of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, Haitians, Cubans and
migrants from within and other continents moving. Section three
presents data on regular migration pathways such as residency
permits, and other specic visa categories/programmes and
recent protection programmes for Ukrainian nationals. The
fourth section highlights the contribution of migrants to human
development. The last section details available information
on natural disasters and other data on human mobility in the
context of environmental degradation and climate change.
Where available, the report presents data disaggregated by sex
and age to foster gender- responsive migration governance,
taking the best interests of the child into consideration.
1. GENERAL OVERVIEW
Based on international and latest comparable data available from
the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Aairs
(UN DESA), as of mid-2020, one out of four (26 per cent) of
all international migrants worldwide resided on the American
continent, amounting to a total 73.5 million. The main destination
region is North America, led by far by the United States which
hosts the largest number of international migrants worldwide
(almost 51 million) and Canada (8 million), followed by South
America (Argentina with 2.3 million, Colombia 1.9 million, among
others, see table 1). Intraregional migration is particularly high
in South America, where almost four out of ve migrants are
estimated to reside in another country in the American sub-
region (79%) (UN DESA, 2020). Furthermore, migrants have
moved on to other countries on the continent, a tendency
further detailed in the next section.
The international migrant population on the continent
represented 7.2 per cent of the total population in mid- 2020,
which is double the world average (Idem), indicating the
importance of immigration in the region. Female international
migrants represented 51.3 per cent of all international migrant
population in the continent, which is higher than the global
average of 48.1 (Idem), indicating that slightly more women
than men migrated to or within the continent. By mid-2020
an estimated 47.2 million emigrants from the Americas resided
elsewhere, including in other countries on the continent.
Emigration is particularly high from some countries in Central
America and the Caribbean (Idem, see table 1).
2
Excluding Argentina, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Venezuela hereafter), Haiti and Suriname as their ination rates have been much higher consistently and would thus aect
representativeness for the regional dynamics.
2
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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2
For purposes of comparability, this table shows data from the UN DESA international migrant stock that may dier from other sources.
Source: UN DESA, 2020.
SUB-
REGION
TOTAL NUMBER
OF IMMIGRANTS
MAIN COUNTRIES
OF ORIGIN
TOP 5 COUNTRIES WITH
HIGHEST IMMIGRANT
POPULATION
TOP 5 COUNTRIES
OF EMIGRATION
South America 10,887,474
Venezuela:
Colombia:
Paraguay:
Bolivia :
Peru:
4,103,204
1,329,616
749,084
635,043
534,230
Argentina:
Colombia:
Chile:
Venezuela:
Peru:
2,281,728
1,900,000
1,645,015
1,300,000
1,200,000
Venezuela:
Colombia:
Brasil:
Peru:
Ecuador:
5,400,000
3,000,000
1,900,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
Central America 2,302,001
United States:
Nicaragua:
Venezuela:
Colombia:
Guatemala:
861,487
395,784
218,960
99,665
93,792
Costa Rica:
Panama:
Guatemala:
Belize:
El Salvador:
520,729
313,165
84,311
62,043
42,767
El Salvador:
Guatemala:
Honduras:
Nicaragua:
Costa Rica:
1,599,058
1,368,431
985,077
718,154
150,241
Caribbean 1,605,148
Haiti:
United States:
France:
Venezuela:
Dominican
Republic:
567,956
230,255
108,253
95,834
77,714
Dominican
Republic:
Trinidad
and Tobago:
Bahamas:
Barbados:
Antigua and
Barbuda:
603,794
78,849
65,583
34,869
29,386
Haiti:
Cuba:
Dominican
Republic:
Jamaica:
Guyana:
1,769,671
1,757,300
1,608,567
1,118,931
438,413
North America 58,708,795
Mexico:
India:
China:
Philippines:
Viet Nam:
10,939,885
3,444,419
2,883,364
2,696,634
1,585,458
United States:
Canada:
Mexico:
50,632,836
8,049,323
1,197,624
Mexico:
United States:
Canada:
11,185,737
2,996,223
1,292,329
TABLE 1: TOTAL NUMBER OF MIGRANTS AND MAIN COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN BY SUB-REGION AT MID-2020
3
GRAPH 1: COUNTRIES WITH THE LARGEST INTERNATIONAL
MIGRANT POPULATION IN THE AMERICAS BY MID-2020 (IN MILLIONS)
Source: UN DESA, 2020.
United States
Of America
50.6
8
1.9
1.6
2.3
Canada Argentina Colombia Chile
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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3
4
Data collection on migrant fatalities face specic limitations, as the majority of deaths are of migrants travelling by irregular means, bodies are not always found quickly and deaths may
not be systematically reported to authorities. Also, when deaths occur at sea or in other bodies of water, many of the deceased may not be recovered. Few ocial sources collect and
publish data on migrant deaths. Often incidents come to light through media sources, which may have incomplete and infrequent coverage. Furthermore, data on missing migrants tend
to over-represent parts of the world where there is better media coverage and ocial reporting of deaths (IOM Missing Migrants, 2022).
Source: IOM Missing Migrants Project, 2022.
TABLE 2: AVAILABLE DATA DISAGGREGATED BY SEX ON MISSING AND DECEASED MIGRANTS REGISTERED BY THE IOM MISSING
MIGRANTS PROJECT IN 2021 AND JANUARY-MARCH 2022, BY SUB-REGION
SUB-REGION IN THE
AMERICAS
TOTAL NUMBER OF
DEAD AND MISSING
MIGRANTS
WOMEN MEN CHILDREN (UNDER 18)
Caribbean 296 32% 68% 5%
South America 183 28% 72% 5%
Central America 402 19% 81% 7%
Northern America 646 22% 78% 2%
Total for the Americas 1527 22% 78% 5%
MIGRANT DEATHS AND DISAPPEARANCES
Migration journeys are not always safe and, in many cases,
lead to the loss of life. IOM´s Missing Migrant Project (MMP)
recorded 1,248 deaths in 2021 in the Americas, a 57 per cent
increase compared to the 796 deaths and missing migrants
registered in 2020. During the rst four months of 2022, 279
deaths and missing migrants were reported in the Americas,
while for the same period of 2021 there were 356 (Missing
Migrants Project (MMP), 2022). In the rst Quarter of 2022,
seven deaths were registered at the border point of Colchane
(Chile-Bolivia), including three Venezuelans (R4V, 2022).
Several incidents also aected Haitian migrants travelling by
boat in the Caribbean Sea, with the most notable accident
causing eleven deaths near the Puerto Rican coast in May
2022. The true scale of migrant deaths and disappearances
remains dicult to estimate given signicant time taken in
reporting andunder-reporting. In general, most deaths and
missing migrants were reported for North America, which
is also due to data coverage issues. The border between the
United States and Mexico, 3,145 kilometers long, covers a
variety of landscapes from urban areas to deadly deserts and
rivers with strong currents. Nearly 3,000 people lost their
lives during migration between 2014-2020, the largest number
recorded by IOM´s MMP on any land border worldwide and
thus making it the most dangerous according to the data
(IOM, MMP, 2021).
Although much of the data on deaths and those missing are
not disaggregated by sex yet, available data covering 60 per
cent of the reported cases for 2021 and 2022 in the Americas
show that 22 per cent were women and 78 per cent men. 5
per cent of the victims registered were children under the
age of 18. Making migration safe needs to be a priority in
the region, taking into account that the data points to higher
recorded deaths and missing persons among men and protect
in particular also children. It is worth noticing that as a result
of the National Search Commission (CNB) eorts, alongside
the families of missing migrants and the civil organizations that
accompany them, a Search Taskforce for Missing Migrants
was created in the scope of the National Search System for
Persons (SNBP) last November 2021 in Mexico.
2. RECENT KEY TRENDS IN THE REGION
As the latest comparable estimates for the continent date
two years back (to mid-2020), this section highlights more
recent data where possible. Given the magnitude, information
on Venezuelans refugees and migrants is presented, together
with data on Haitians, Cubans and migrants from other
regions if available and by destination/transit country, ordered
geographically from south to north. Those migrants tend to
be particularly vulnerable due to a lack of access to regular
pathways, sanitary health requirements that impact mobility,
lack of access to necessary documentation and information.
BACK TO CONTENTS
COUNTRIES WITH THE MAJORITY OF PERMITS GRANTED AS OF MAY 2022
Brazil
214,300
Colombia
730,000
Mexico
43,000
Panama
79,700
Chile
636,400
Peru
362,800
Ecuador
202,500
Argentina
324,700
Fuente: R4V, 2022.
* Note: May cover, in some countries, residence permits not currently in force, but also duplication or triplication of cases (a person with more than one permit granted). It does not cover
tourist stay permits.
VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS
MAP 1: VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (MAY 2022)*
of Venezuelan refugees
and migrants live in Latin
American and Caribbean
countries.
Approx. Venezuelan refugees
and migrants in Latin
America and Caribbean
Total approx. Venezuelan
refugees and migrants
in the world including the
United States and Canada
of all Venezuelan refugees
and migrants worldwide
live in Colombia, Peru and
Ecuador.
Venezuelan refugees and
migrants live in North
American, Central American,
and Caribbean countries:
Out of these 50 percent live
in United States, 14 percent
in Panama, and 13 percent in
the Dominican Republic.
residence permits and regular
stays have been granted, 90
per cent of these permits
have been issued in Latin
American and Caribbean
countries (R4V, 2022). *
82%82%
5.08M5.08M
6.13M6.13M
60%60%
Around Around
924,416 924,416
As of April 2022As of April 2022
2,708,9942,708,994
4
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
ARGENTINA
CHILE
URUGUAY
PARAGUAY
BOLIVIA
SURINAME
GUYANA
COLOMBIA
ECUADOR
PANAMA
COSTA
RICA
NICARAGUA
HONDURAS
EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
BELIZE
MEXICO
CUBA
PUERTO
RICO
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
HAITI
JAMAICA
ARUBA
CURAZAO
TRINIDAD
& TOBAGO
PERU
VENEZUELA
UNITED STATES
FRENCH
GUYANA
BRAZIL
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used in this map do not imply official endorsement or
acceptance by the United Nations. Creation date: May 2022, more information available in: http://R4V.info
Mexico
Costa Rica
Panama
Colombia
Peru
Brazil
Guyana
Trinidad and Tobago
Aruba
Curacao
Dominican Republic
Argentina
Uruguay
Bolivia
Central America & Mexico
The Southern Cone
The Caribbean
Other Countries
1.05 M
Chile
Ecuador
Paraguay
83.0 K
29.9 K
121.6 K
1.84 M
448.1 K
1.29 M
513.9 K
345 K
24.5 K
28.5 K
17.0 K
14.2 K
115.3 K
170.3 K
20.6 K
12.4 K
5.92 K
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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5
DATA AVAILABLE BY COUNTRY OF DESTINATION /
TRANSIT
Brazil
Since 2017, Brazil has become one of the top ve destination
countries of Venezuelan migration in Latin America (see map
1). As of April 2022, Brazil hosts approximately 345,000
Venezuelan refugees and migrants, 78 per cent of whom have
entered the country through the Northern border in the state
of Roraima (IOM, 2022b). The Brazilian Federal Government
has responded to the situation by establishing a national
humanitarian response, Operation Welcome (Operação
Acolhida, in Portuguese), to provide emergency assistance to
this population in need.
Operation Welcome has also assisted eligible Venezuelan
refugees and migrants located at the Northern border to
safely relocate to other cities in Brazil (for family reunication,
employment or other reasons), thus facilitating their socio-
economic integration in the country. To date, more than
74,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants have been voluntarily
relocated from Roraima into other states with the support
of the Brazilian Government, UN agencies and civil society
organizations (IOM, 2022d). Concerning the prole of the
population assisted, the majority (89%) travelled in family groups.
47 per cent were women and 38 per cent were children. Main
destination states are Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do
Sul and Sao Paulo, followed by Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais.
IOM Brazil has deployed DTM tools to perform ow monitoring
and collect demographic data on Venezuelan refugees and
migrants. In the state of Roraima, surveys have been conducted
since 2018. Data from the latest DTM Round May 2021
showed that 87 per cent of the respondents lived in rented
accommodation and 65 per cent were either employed or self-
employed - however, only 6 per cent of those were employed
in the formal labour market, and 76 per cent reported their
economic situation worsened during the pandemic (IOM, 2021a).
The DTM conducted in the state of Amazonas showed that 58
per cent of the respondents earned less than the minimum wage,
and 36 per cent had diculty accessing food items in the previous
months (IOM, 2021b). More recently, IOM Brazil also deployed a
National DTM focused on indigenous Venezuelan migrants, with
3,319 indigenous Venezuelans interviewed. The R4V Platform
estimates that 6,000 indigenous people from Venezuela have
migrated to Brazil, belonging to the Warao, E’ñepá, Ka’riña,
Pemón (Taurepang), Wayuu, Ye’kwana, and Baniva ethnic groups.
GRAPH 2: NUMBER OF RESIDENCE PERMITS AND ASYLUM CLAIMS OF VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BRAZIL PER
MONTH AND YEAR (JANUARY 2017 - MARCH 2022)
Source: CG-CONARE E STI-MAR, 2022
263
273
1.342
1.301
1.480
1.252
2.400
3.791
3.570
3.638
2.602
2.843
3.944
5.652
4.526
6.080
6.193
6.594
10.829
11.059
7.706
10.450
11.236
10.096
14.398
11.661
8.911
8.963
10.329
9.893
10.765
13.914
12.180
15.692
15.246
12.094
13.181
11.060
9.546
605
307
1.227
1.801
3.123
3.829
3.643
4.510
4.504
2.874
2.402
2.943
3.472
3.200
3.241
9.184
11.038
10.876
13.309
16.533
16.863
15.670
12.353
13.806
2017
2018 2019 2020 2021
2022
Requests for recognition of refugee status Residence Records
6
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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Chile
May 1st, 2022, the Government of Chile normalized cross-border
transits with the reopening of all international Points of Entry
(PoEs) that had been previously closed due to the COVID-19
pandemic public health emergency (Suramérica Abierta, 2022).
During 2021 and the beginning of 2022, with the border
closures, a considerable increase -when compared to 2020
gures- of migrants and refugees entered Chile through
unocial PoEs along the north of the country. Colchane, a
small town along the shared border with the Plurinational
State of Bolivia (hereafter Bolivia), in the northern Tarapacá
Region, was the principal access point.
In January 2022, IOM conducted a DTM in northern regions of the
country (Arica y Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, and Coquimbo),
with a total number of 300 Venezuelan refugees and migrants
surveyed. Those surveyed were found to be predominately in
transit to other locations in the country (IOM, 2022c).
Main ndings of the 6th DTM Report:
• Age composition: Of the total number of Venezuelans
surveyed, 70 per cent were between the ages of 18 and
34 years old. Those over 45 years of age represented 9 per
cent of all respondents (4% men and 5% women). In total,
81 per cent of Venezuelans surveyed were of working age.
• Duration of stay: About half of all respondents (56%) declared
to have arrived in Chile less than a month before surveyed, with
29 per cent between one and six months, and a further 15 per
cent over six months. These ndings highlight that the majority
of Venezuelans surveyed had only recently arrived in Chile.
• Transit routes: All Venezuelans surveyed (100%) declared to
have entered Chile by land, with 98 per cent stating that Chile
was their destination country, reinforcing integration needs. The
capital of Santiago was the predominant city for nal destination
(42%), followed by the city of Arica as a distant second (18%).
82 per cent of the migrants surveyed traveled with a member of
their family, with 71 per cent traveling with children.
• Countries of stay before entry into Chile: Data recollected
indicates that 50 per cent of Venezuelans surveyed stated
to have resided in Peru before entering Chile, followed by
Colombia (45%), Ecuador (30%), Bolivia (14%), and, lastly,
Brazil (2%). As such, these preliminary insights point toward
the Andean Corridor as a main route of transit between
Venezuela and Chile.
• Documentation: A majority of those surveyed (80%) stated
that a Venezuelan national identication card was the only
identication document used for border crossings, while 18
per cent stated to be in possession of a passport and a
nal 2 per cent declaring to be without any identication
documents at the time of the survey.
• Challenges during migration routes: Nearly 1 out of every
10 Venezuelans surveyed (7%) declared to have been forced
to worked against their will during their journey prior to
arriving in Chile. Additionally, 28 per cent of those surveyed
conrmed to have witnessed emotional or physical abuse,
followed by a further 17 per cent reporting to have
witnessed gender-based acts of violence (a gure equally
reported between male and female respondents).
• Diculties in Chile: An alarming 84 per cent of Venezuelans
surveyed highlighted the lack of economic resources as
their main diculty in Chile, followed by the availability of
safe places to sleep and access to food and water (53%),
and means of transport (41%). These indicators point
to considerable socio-economic integration needs and
vulnerabilities.
• Reasons for travelling to Chile
5
: Economic mobility-
associated motives are predominant factors of attraction,
with 76 per cent of Venezuelans surveyed indicating work
GRAPH 3: NUMBER OF VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS SUPPORTED WITH VOLUNTARY RELOCATION IN BRAZIL PER
MONTH AND YEAR
4,972
2018
2019
2020
2021 2022
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
abr/18
mai/18
jun/18
jul/18
ago/18
set/18
out/18
nov/18
dez/18
jan/19
fev/19
mar/19
abr/19
mai/19
jun/19
jul/19
ago/19
set/19
out/19
nov/19
dez/19
jan/20
fev/20
mar/20
abr/20
mai/20
jun/20
jul/20
ago/20
set/20
out/20
nov/20
dez/20
jan/21
fev/21
mar/21
abr/21
mai/21
jun/21
jul/21
ago/21
set/21
out/21
nov/21
dez/21
jan/22
fev/22
469
939
1057
1103
1509
2304
2171
2717
2497
3069
2503
1890
3010
3110
2199
1004
1095
1025
1203
1300
1348
1500
1239
1356
1360
1109
1260
1228
1467
1842
2443
2073
1892
1798
1779
2263
1908
270
265
_
299
316
1401
744
588
1089
1417
Federal government IOM Civil Society
22,228
19,389 19,668 4,171
Source: CG-CONARE E STI-MAR 2022
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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7
opportunities as the main reason for travelling to Chile.
Furthermore, 38 per cent reported reasons pertaining to
family reunication, 15 per cent cited reunication with
friends and acquaintances, and a nal 12 per cent declared
their intention to settle in Chile.
• Discrimination
6
: Prior to arriving in Chile, almost 60 per
cent of Venezuelans surveyed stated to have suered
discriminated, with a vast majority (97%) citing nationality-
based discrimination followed by 14 per cent citing
economic-based conditions.
• Pregnant women and healthcare: Of the total number of
Venezuelans surveyed, 3 per cent were pregnant women,
of whom 60 per cent had not received pre-natal healthcare.
• Leading short-term needs
7
: Findings highlight that 72 per
cent of Venezuelans surveyed required assistance with
employment and income generation, followed by 51 per
cent stating to be in need of food and legal assistance.
Child and young migrants identied along the routes through Chile:
The majority (72%) of the people surveyed reported traveling
with at least one child or adolescent. When disaggregated by age,
68 per cent of the children and adolescents in travel groups were
between 0 and 9 years old, 25 per cent were between 10 and
14 years old, and 7 per cent were between 15 and 17 years old.
When asked about the education of children and adolescents,
and as a result of the displacement process, 68 per cent of
those surveyed stated that children and adolescents have not
completed their formal education on a continuous basis.
Peru
On 14 February 2022, after two years of being closed, the border
between Peru and Ecuador was reopened. Since 2019, Peru
requires a visa for Venezuelans to enter the country. (IOM, 2022d).
According to DTM data, among 1,740 Venezuelan refugees
and migrants entering Peru via Tumbes using non-ocial
crossings, 62 per cent were men and 38 women (Idem).
The majority of women (58%) travels in family groups, while
86 per cent of men travel in non-family groups.
Origins: 45 per cent of the interviewed persons used to reside
in Colombia prior to entering Peru, 28 per cent in Venezuela
and 27 per cent in Ecuador.
Main destinations inside Peru: Lima 60 per cent, Tumbes 9 per
cent, Piura 6 per cent, Trujillo 6 per cent and Chiclayo 5 per cent.
Main nal destinations countries: 56 per cent responded that
Peru was their nal destination, and in second place Chile with
43 per cent (Idem).
5
Multiple choice question, percentages may exceed 100%.
6
Multiple choice question, percentages may exceed 100%.
7
Multiple choice question, percentages may exceed 100%.
Source: IOM DTM Peru Flow Monitoring on Venezuelan Population - Round 14, March 2022.
TABLE 3: TRAVELLING MODE BY SEX
TYPE OF GROUP MEN WOMEN
Family Group 42% 58%
Non- Family Group 86% 14%
GRAPH 4: INTERVIEWED RESPONDENTS BY SEX AND AGE GROUPS
Source: IOM DTM Peru Flow Monitoring on Venezuelan Population - Round 14, March 2022
32%
16%
23%
15%
6%
6%
1%2%
MEN
18 to 25
26 to 35
36 to 45
46 to 60
WOMEN
8
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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Ecuador
According to Ecuador’s Ministry of Government (2022),
in 2021 10,530 entries from Venezuelan nationals were
registered through ocial Points of Entry (PoE) into the
country, and 18,723 exits at the same time. Between January-
May 2022, ocials recorded 7,411 entries and 11,921 exits,
likely indicating higher gures for 2022 than for 2021 if current
trends continue. In terms of importance, the main PoE’s are
the international airports of Quito and Guayaquil, followed by
the International Bridge in Rumichaca at the northern border
with Colombia.
• Considering the proles of Venezuelan refugees and
migrants, data collected through DTM surveys in 2021 and
2022 show that this group is predominantly young, and
approximately three quarters are between 18 and 39 years
old. More than half of this surveyed population identies as
male, while less than 1 per cent identify as non-binary (IOM
DTM Ecuador, 2022).
• Border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be
associated with an observed rise of irregular crossings into
the country: from 43.2 per cent in the rst quarter of 2021
to 58.3 per cent in the same period for 2022. Surveys
show that nearly 8 out of 10 Venezuelan migrants have an
irregular migratory status, so entries are likely much higher
than those registered ocially (Idem).
• Almost half of the surveyed population in February-March
travelled with close relatives, and do not see Ecuador as
their nal destination (50.9% indicatingindicating Peru as
their destination, 25.8% Chile and 12.3% other countries
including Venezuela and Argentina) (Idem).
• In terms of the labour status of the surveyed population,
20.8 per cent said they were unemployed (Idem).
• By February-March 2022, only 12.1 per cent had not
received a COVID-19 vaccine, marking a huge decrease
since June 2021 where almost 95 per cent stated not having
received any vaccine (Idem).
Colombia
According to ocial data, in 2021 260,000 Venezuelan
nationals entered Colombia and 250,000 exited via air, land
and sea borders. The most dynamic month was December
2021, when 22 per cent of the entries and 20 per cent of the
exits took place (Migración Colombia, 2022a).
As part of IOM’s humanitarian response addressed to refugees
and migrants from Venezuela, IOM used the DTM approach
and interviewed 5,548 Venezuelan nationals in 24 shelters run
by IOM distributed in 13 departments in Colombia in April
2022 where they received humanitarian assistance
9
(IOM
DTM Colombia, 2022).
8
The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) is a modular system that IOM uses to capture, process and disseminate information on human mobility, routes and places of displacement, the
degree of vulnerability and the main needs of protection of these populations. Neither DTM deployed in Colombia nor in Peru show results from a probabilistic surveys nor sampling.
Data on both country sections is non probabilistic.
9
Interviewed Venezuelan refugees and migrants per Assistance shelter: Antioquia (130), Arauca (166), Atlántico (37), Bogotá D.C. (131), Bolívar (21), Casanare (781), Cundinamarca
(198), La Guajira (411), Nariño (1,057), Norte de Santander (2,017), Santander (304), Tolima (101), Valle del Cauca (194).
GRAPH 5: VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN COLOMBIA APRIL 2021 AND APRIL 2022
Source: IOM DTM Colombia - Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela - Flow Monitoring Emergency and Stabilization Program, April 2022
198
134
143
110
418
383
430
405
390
152
132
372
489
518
528
471
336
333
811
728
426
542
472
264
223
539
430
279
307
441
249
183
73
350
251
176
245
179
157
77
274
233
179
31
65
33
192
295
166
360
324
208
246
214
230
186
98
125
1-Apr2 -Apr 3-Apr4 -Apr 5-Apr6 -Apr 7-Apr8 -Apr 9-Apr1 0-Apr1 1-Apr1 2-Apr1 3-Apr1 4-Apr1 5-Apr1 6-Apr1 7-Apr1 8-Apr1 9-Apr2 0-Apr2 1-Apr2 2-Apr2 3-Apr 24-Apr 25-Apr 26-Apr 27-Apr 28-Apr 29-A pr 30-A pr
2021 2022
According to the accommodation registers for April 2022, the ow of Venezuelan nationals decreased from 11,404 to 5,548
compared to the same month of the previous year, and the analysis for March 2022 shows a decrease in the inow of Venezuelan
national migrants (Idem).
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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9
MAP 2: MAIN STATES OF ORIGIN IN VENEZUELA AND DESTINATION COUNTRIES
Source: IOM DTM Colombia - Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela - Flow Monitoring Emergency and Stabilization Program, April 2022.
The following data compares the daily distribution during April (Idem) 2021 and April 2022 of refugees and migrants from
Venezuela, indicating so far lower numbers that month in 2022 than in 2021.
82 per cent of the interviewed Venezuelan nationals indicated
that they entered Colombia directly from Venezuela,
highlighting new or repeat movements. A smaller proportion
came from other countries such as Peru (10%), Ecuador
(6%) and Chile (2%).
Compared to April 2021, in April 2022 9 per cent less
respondents indicated that their destination country was
Colombia. At the same time, comparing April 2021 and 2022,
the intention of Venezuelan refugees and migrants to move on
to Peru remained the same (14%). In contrast, the percentage
of those intending to return to Venezuela has increased by 11
per cent, which could explain why less Venezuelans intend to
remain in Colombia and thus return instead (Idem).
Crossing via the Darién Gap: Colombia –
Panama Border
Transits from South America to North America of migrants
from the Caribbean, Asia and Africa have been developing
for around a decade. Migration ows have reached a record-
high and surpassed the last 10 years combined in 2021 due
to the socioeconomic crisis brought about by the COVID-19
pandemic, disasters, and political instability in countries of
origin and residence (IOM, 2021c). Some nationals from
Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and African and Asian
countries already living in Latin America, and others that
arrived more recently, were forced to migrate or made the
decision to migrate to other destinations in the north of the
continent (Idem). Certain migrants from the Caribbean and
African and Asian countries have children who are nationals
PANAMA
ECUADOR
PERU
BRAZIL
GRAPH 6: DESTINATION COUNTRIES FOR VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS (APRIL 2021 VS APRIL 2022)
Source: IOM DTM Colombia - Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela - Flow Monitoring Emergency and Stabilization Program, April 2022.
62%
53%
14% 14%
14% 10%
6%
17%
3%
5%
1%
APR
APR
2021 2022
Colombia
Peru
Ecuador Venezuela Other country of destination. Does not know / Does not respond
10
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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of a South American country, so they are not exclusively
migrants from the Caribbean and other regions, but also
nationals from South American countries in transit to North
America (Idem).
Due to the lack of accessible regular routes for most of
these migrants from other continents and the Caribbean,
these movements tend to occur in an irregular manner
(Idem). 2021 registered almost 134,000 irregular crossings
from Colombia to Panama via the Darién Gap, a gure higher
than the sum of the previous 11 years (amounting to almost
118,000). During 2021, Haitian was the main nationality
representing 62 per cent of the total number of entries,
followed by Cuban with 14 per cent, then Chilean with 7
per cent and Brazilian with 6 per cent (mostly representing
children of Haitian-born parents) (SNM, 2022a). Venezuelan
is the main nationality for 2022, followed by Haitian, Cuban,
Senegalese and Brazilian (in particular Brazilian children born
to Haitian parents) (SNM, 2022b).
According to ocial data for January-April 2022, 811,502
regular entries
10
into Panama were registered. This gure is
almost three times the one observed during the same period
2021, which shows higher international mobility after the
pandemic (SNM, 2022a; 2022b). Ocial gures for January-
April 2022 registered 19,092 irregular entries, higher than
those recorded for the same period in 2021, reaching 11,487.
This represents an increase of 66 per cent (SNM, 2022b). It
is important to recall that 2021 had the highest number of
irregular entries so if the current trend for 2022 continues,
2022 will have higher number of irregular entries (Idem),
increasing male dominance in these ows.
Between January and April 2022, men represented almost
three out of four (74%) of all persons crossing the Darien,
while women only made up 26 per cent. Compared to the
same period in 2021, this shows an 8 per cent decrease in the
share of men, who represented 66 per cent in 2021 (Idem).
10
Regular entries refer to visits rather than individual records of people, which means that a person can enter several times through an ocial point and be recorded as one visit.
GRAPH 7: MAIN NATIONALITIES IN IRREGULAR TRANSIT THROUGH THE BORDER WITH COLOMBIA TOTAL 2022
Source: Prepared by IOM based on tránsito irregular de extranjeros por la frontera con Colombia between 2010 y 2021 of SNM Panama to December 2021.
* Includes all other nationalities identied and those yet to be identied by SENAFRONT - Darien Regional. (1) Children of Haitian nationals whose birth records correspond to these countries.
Venezuelan
6,951
36%
2,195
11%
1,579
8%
1,355
7%
934
5%
Haitian Cuban Senegalese Angolan
GRAPH 8: IRREGULAR ENTRIES BETWEEN JANUARY AND APRIL 2021 AND 2022 VIA THE DARIEN
Source: SNM, 2022.
2021 2022
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
January
1,071
MarchFebruary April
4,442
4,014
1,857
2,694
4,959
5,865
5,667
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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11
Risks and vulnerabilities during the journey via
the Darién Gap
The duration of the journey varies between 6 and 10 days,
depending on the season, and the trek includes crossing
hills and rivers with strong currents (IOM, 2021c). The lack
of basic services, such as drinking water and medical care
along the way, leads to a situation of extreme vulnerability.
Risks associated with the characteristics of the road put
children at particular risk of diarrhea, respiratory diseases
and dehydration (UNICEF, 2021a). A major risk factor is the
presence of criminal gangs in the Darién Gap that expose
migrants to violence, including sexual abuse, human tracking
and extortion (Idem). The dangers of crossing the Darien
rainforest are also associated with geographical and climatic
factors such as being a thick tropical rainforest with an
ecosystem that gathers dangerous animals and insects (IOM,
2021c). According to UNICEF, the use of sexual violence
against women and minors as an instrument of intimidation
has increased (UNICEF, 2021).
Between January 2021 and April 2022, 56 deaths and missing
of migrants have been registered in the Darién Gap. Available
gures indicate that out of those 33 who have been identied,
approximately 40 per cent were female, 30 per cent male and,
30 per cent children (Missing Migrants Project (MMP)).
Paso Canoas Border, Panama-Costa Rica
According to the ow monitoring DTM in the Paso Canoas
border applied between 1 and 30 April 2022:
• About 5,136 people were recorded as departing from
Panama heading to Costa Rica through the Paso Canoas
border, which represents a 6 per cent increase in ows
compared to the previous month (4,837 people leaving
Panama in March 2022 according to DTM) (IOM, 2022e).
Main ndings:
• Most of the migration ow is composed of men (76% men
and 24% women). The average age is 32 years, with a majority
of people (81%) between 26 and 45 years of age (Idem).
• The main countries of residence of the people identied in
mobility at the Paso Canoas border (countries where people
lived for one year or more before starting their journey), are
Venezuela (44%), Colombia (11%), Brazil (8%), Ecuador (8%),
Peru (7%) and 22 per cent among 10 other countries. (Idem)
• Based on the same DTM report, the identied route of
migrants interviewed begins in Brazil and Bolivia, continuing
to Peru (mainly to the city of Lima), and then to Quito in
Ecuador. From Ecuador, the route forks into two routes; one
to Medellín and the other to Necoclí in Colombia. Another
route directly leads from Venezuela to Colombia, mainly
to Medellin. From Medellín, there is one ow that indicates
heading directly to David in Panama, and two others that
travel to Necoclí or Darién in Panama, and from there, the
routes are distributed among various transit cities reported
in Panama, mainly through the communities of Puerto Limón,
Panama City, Gualaca and Chiriquí (Idem).
• Regarding the countries of destination, the United States
of America was identied as the main destination country
(83%), followed by Mexico (17%), among others (Idem).
• Lack of economic resources and access to food and services
were the main diculties identied in the migration process
of the migrant population moving through the Americas,
while during their stay in Costa Rica, access to food, access
to health and security became important (Idem).
Costa Rica-Nicaragua
The irregular mixed ow monitoring DTM in Las Tablillas
border point, applied from October 26th, 2021, to February
15th, 2022, obtained the following key ndings:
• Las Tablillas is the monitoring point that records a higher
proportion of outows than inows (78% of its recorded ows
are outows), indicating it is primarily used to leave the country.
• The ow of persons in transit through the Americas in Las
Tablillas was constant in December 2021, January and the
rst half of February 2022.
• The main reasons for migration, for both men and women,
are family reunication and the search for better economic
conditions (IOM, 2022f).
GRAPH 9: MAIN NATIONALITIES IDENTIFIED IN TRANSIT THROUGH THE PASO CANOAS BORDER TO COSTA RICA, MARCH 2022.
Source: OM DTM,Flow Monitoring of people in mobility situation through the Americas, round 5-April 2022.
Note: The Others category includes the following countries of origin: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Somalia.
Venezuelan
2,979
50%
484
10%
483
10%
435
9%
1,130
21%
Haitian Cuban Senegalese Angolan
12
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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11
http://www.politicamigratoria.gob.mx/es/PoliticaMigratoria/Boletines_Estadisticos
Nicaragua-Honduras
According to the Instituto Nacional de Migración of Honduras
(INM for its acronym in Spanish), approximately 400 people have
entered daily through irregular border crossing points in the
municipality of Trojes (on the border of Honduras, coming from
Nicaragua) from January to April 2022. They are not receiving
immediate assistance due to several reasons: lack of personnel in
the migration delegations in the municipalities of Trojes and Danlí,
an increase in requests to complete the procedures and pay the
administrative ne or to have the vulnerability test applied and be
exempted from the nes and considering that migrants cross the
border at night (IOM, 2022g).
According to the Catholic Church, most of the groups
entering the territory continue to be made up of a high per-
centage of males (67%), of whom 59 per cent are over 17
years of age and 7 per cent under 17 years of age, and 33 per
cent of females, 27 per cent over 17 years of age and 7 per
cent under 17 years of age (Idem).
The INM delegation in Danlí has informed that many Cuban
migrants in irregular situations pay the administrative ne of
200 US dollars; however, the rest of the nationalities request
the application of the vulnerability test due to economic
limitations for the payment of the ne (Idem).
On November 22, 2021, the Nicaraguan Ministry of the
Interior established free entry visas for Cubans.
This facilitates the entry and transit of these migrants in
Honduras (Ministerio de Gobernación de Nicaragua, 2021).
Based on information from the INM, between 1 January and
6 April 2022, a total of 16,214 migrants in irregular conditions
have been identied in Honduras. 64 per cent of the total
were people between 21 and 40 years old. In addition, 7
per cent of the total were minors between 0 and 10 years
(Migración Honduras, 2022).
Tapachula, Mexico
The latest DTM executed in March 2022, in the Guatemala-
Mexico border, observing 1141 migrants, 871 in Tapachula and
270 persons in Tenosquique, presented the following key results:
• Access to health services shows a dierentiated behavior
among cities because migrants in Tapachula receive care mainly
at government health centers, while in Tenosique NGOs are
the main means of accessing medical services. On the other
hand, the main obstacles reported by those who were not able
to access medical services in both cities are lack of information
and lack of money (IOM, 2022h).
• Tapachula is the city most frequented by extra-regional
migrants because it is a city with an important oer of medical
services. However, Tenosique has begun to be a point of
passage for other nationalities (idem), such as Haitians who
traditionally were not detected in this city.
• The predominant group surveyed was between 26 and 30
years of age (25%), followed by the group between 18 and 25
years of age (23%) (Idem).
• The analysis by city shows that the highest percentage of
young people (between 18 and 25 years of age) was found in
Tenosique, while in Tapachula the distribution is more equitable
between the ages of 18 to 40 (Idem).
• 74 per cent of respondents were refugee claimants in Mexico
(Idem).
• 7 per cent of women were pregnant only 71 per cent of them
have received mother-child care (Idem).
• 21 per cent of migrants reported suering from one or more
non-communicable diseases, mainly cardiovascular (Idem).
• Between the two cities, the distribution of migrants by
nationality is uneven. People coming from the Central American
region were mainly identied in the city of Tenosique, while
GRAPH 10: MAIN NATIONALITIES IDENTIFIED IN IRREGULAR CONDITIONS IN HONDURAS
Source: Migración Honduras, 2022.
Note: The “Others” category includes: 170 Senegalese, 149 Nicaraguans, 125 Brazilians, 93 Bangladeshi and 962 non-specied records.
12,526
77%
0,474
3%
1,031
6%
0,445
3%
0,249
2%
1,499
9%
Venezuelan HaitianCuban Ecuadorian Angolan Others
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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13
those from the Caribbean, South America, and Central and
Southeast Africa were surveyed mostly in Tapachula (Idem).•
The highest percentage of the migrant population has
completed primary school (33%) and high school (29%),
while 16 per cent have a university or postgraduate degree.
About ve per cent have no education at all; this category is
represented mostly by men (75%) (Idem).
Mexico
After the apparent stagnation of migratory ows that
occurred in 2020 because of the pandemic and the closure of
borders, since 2021 there has been a continuous increase in
presentation events by U.S. and Mexican authorities, showing
gures higher than 2019. The trend remains constant in 2022
(as of May).
According to the Migration Policy Unit (Unidad de Política
Migratoria, in Spanish), during the rst months of 2022, there
has been a continuous increase in return events of Mexicans
from the United States. Comparing data from January and
February 2021 with the same period of the current year, an
increase of 66.35 per cent stands out; during this period,
in 2021 24,788 events were registered, while in 2022 there
have been 41,231, of which 86.8 per cent are men, and 13.2
per cent are women (UPM, 2022). Likewise, the Migration
Policy Unit has published that during the rst months of 2022,
46,688 events of foreign persons presented to the migratory
authority have been registered. The main nationalities of the
people presented are: Honduran (25%), Guatemalan (24.7%)
and Cuban (11.8%).
From October to December 2021, IOM carried out a data
collection exercise using the DTM in order to collect reliable
and disaggregated information on the migratory ows of
people of Haitian origin in Mexico. Among the most relevant
ndings, it stands out that the main countries of the last
residence of those surveyed are Brazil (50%) and Chile (46%).
The factors that motivated them to migrate are associated
with security issues, favorable socioeconomic conditions,
political stability, access to refugee determination processes,
and family reunication. Currently, 85 per cent of migrants of
Haitian origin in the country are unemployed and in search
of employment. However, of the total number of people
interviewed, three out of four Haitians (74%) expressed
their desire to stay in Mexico, highlighting the importance of
supporting their integration (IOM, 2022h).
GRAPH 11: RETURN EVENTS OF MEXICANS FROM THE
UNITED STATES, JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021-2022
Source: UPM, 2022.
GRAPH 12: RETURN EVENTS OF MEXICANS FROM
UNITED STATES, JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021-2022, BY SEX
Source: UPM, 2022.
86.77%
MEN
13.23%
WOMEN
GRAPH 13: RESULTS OF THE DTM ON HAITIANS IN MEXICO - MIGRATION DRIVERS
Source: UPM, 2022.
Security Favorable
socioeconomic
conditions
Political
stability
Access to refugee
determination
process
Family
reunication
41%41% 36%36% 15%15% 5%5% 3%3%
2021
24,788
2022
41,237
14
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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Staying in
Mexico
Try to reach
the U.S.
Try to reach
the Canada
Return to their
country or the
last country of
residence
In terms of migratory ows of Venezuelan migrants to
Mexico, there has been a signicant reduction of arrivals
since the visa enforcement in January 2022 for Venezuelans.
As a result of the Visa Decree, air arrivals decreased by 86.49
per cent for the period between December 2021 to January
2022, and February to March 2022 in Mexico.
RETURNS
HAITI – FORCED RETURNS STATISTICS
As of 30 April 2022, IOM Haiti had assisted more than 11,600
migrants with reception and post-arrival assistance in all of
2022, in addition to nearly 20,000 assisted in 2021. The vast
majority of those returned by air and sea arriving in Port-
au-Prince or Cap-Haïtien since the beginning of 2021 were
returned on ights from the United States, while smaller
proportions were returned by air and sea by other countries
and territories in the region, mainly from the Bahamas Cuba,
Mexico and Saint Kitts and Nevis (IOM, 2022i, IOM, 2022j).
Of all those forcibly returned between the beginning of 2021
and the end of April 2022, 57 per cent were adult men, 25
per cent were adult women and 18 per cent were minors
(9% girls and 9% boys) (Ibid). Most of the returned migrants
previously resided in Chile or Brazil and were returned by
the United States after journeying northward (IOM, 2022i).
Based on voluntary registration records collected between
October 2021 and February 2022, 20 per cent of the 9,260
migrants returned in this period were born outside of Haiti
(most of these between the ages of 0 and 2) (IOM, 2022j).
Close to 90 per cent of respondents reported the intention
to migrate again following return, with most citing lack of
economic opportunities (94% of those intending to leave
again), safety and security (67%) and the recent increase
in kidnapping (61%) as the key reasons for not wanting
to remain (IOM, 2022j). While the main immediate need
expressed by returned migrants across the country are
nancial assistance (28%) and housing (22%), 70 per cent
of those returned to Port-au-Prince expressed safety and
security as one of their three top priority needs (IOM, 2022j).
A phone survey conducted at the start of 2022 with adult
migrants repatriated between September and December
2021 showed that over three in ve adult returned migrants
relied on assistance from family and friends as their main
source of income, with only eight per cent reporting that
they had worked to earn income in the 30 days prior to data
collection (IOM, 2022i).
GRAPH 14: RESULTS OF THE DTM ON HAITIANS IN MEXICO - INTENTIONS IN MEXICO
74%74% 23%23% 2%2% 1%1%
Source: UPM, 2022.
GRAPH 15: FORCED RETURNS BY AIR AND SEA TO HAITI RECORDED DURING 2021-2022 (JANUARY- APRIL)
Source: IOM, 2021i; 2022j.
207
4,523
1,613
2,561
803
2,923
909
601
February MarchJanuary April
2021 2022
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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15
GRAPH 16: RETURNS TO GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND EL SALVADOR, 2019-2022 (JANUARY-APRIL)
Source: NTMI, 2022.
Along the land border with the Dominican Republic, it is
estimated that several thousand migrants are deported in
accordance with the 1999 bilateral Protocol or expelled every
month, with anecdotal evidence of an increasing trend since
the last quarter of 2021.
RETURNS TO COUNTRIES OF NORTHERN
CENTRAL AMERICA
• During 2021, approximately 125,257 migrant returns
11
to
northern Central American countries were recorded, an
increase by 39 percent compared to the total number of
returns in 2020.
• 73 per cent of returns in 2021 were sent from Mexico and
27 per cent from the United States. During January - April
2022, Mexico was the country from which most returns
took place. Of the more than 69,000 returns recorded
between January-April 2022, Mexico has returned 57 per
cent of Central American migrants and the United States
43 per cent. (Northern Triangle Migration Information
Initiative (NTMI), 2022)
• The total number of returned migrants between January-
April of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, has
shown an increase of 265 per cent for El Salvador, 124 per
cent for Guatemala and 83 per cent for Honduras (Idem).
11
The numbers of returns presented do not consider information on voluntary returnees but only forced returns.
2019 255,282
2020 93,013
2021 125,257
2022 69,188
108,762 (43%)
45,605 (49%)
63,808 (51%)
31,635 (46%) 32,512 (47%)
52,968 (42%)
8,481 (7%)
5,041 (7%)
36,558 (39%) 10,840 (12%)
109,185 (42%) 37,335 (15%)
UNITED STATES SOUTHWEST LAND BORDER
ENCOUNTERS
Asylum The Encounters statistics reect the migration control
actions carried out by the US Border Protection and Oces
of Field Operations (OFO), including Title 8 Apprehensions
(temporary detainment of a person who is not lawfully in the
United States, which may or may not result in an detention
procedure), Title 8 inadmissions (refers to individuals
encountered at ports of entry who are seeking lawful admission
into the United States but are determined to be inadmissible),
and Title 42 Expulsions (refers to individuals encountered by
USBP and OFO and expelled to the country of last transit or
home country in the interest of public health) (CBP, 2021).
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (C B P,
2022), during the rst quarter of 2022, records of encounters
have been continuously increasing. In January 2022, 154, 816
encounters were registered, 165,900 in February, 222,144
in March and 234,088 in April. When comparing data for
January-April 2021 with the same period for 2022, an
increase of 46 per cent is observed: since in 2021, in that
period, 531, 585events were registered, while 776,948 were
registered in 2022. (Idem)
On 21 March 2020, expulsions under Title 42 became
eective, this implied that individuals encountered by US
Border Protection and Oces of Field Operations (OFO)
were expelled to the country of last transit or home country
in the interest of public health. In total, there were 234,088
encounters along the southwest land border in April 2022
– surpassing March’s record-setting total of 222,144, the
highest total in 22 years (Idem).
Guatemala Honduras El Salvador
GRAPH 17: ENCOUNTERS ON THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES BORDER, BY DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS,
2021-2022 JANUARY-APRIL
Source: CBP, Southwest Land Border Encounters, 2022.
2021
2,035,602
2022 776,948
Single Adults
Minors Family Units
1,255,959 (62%)
577,468
(74%)
48,101
(6%)
151,379
(20%)
173,763
(8%)
605,889
(30%)
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RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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For 2021 the top 10 countries of origin of migrants encountered
were: Mexico (706,647), Honduras (353,504), Guatemala
(311,814) El Salvador (116,448), Venezuela (106,755), Nicaragua
(86,316), Ecuador (82,113), Brazil (78,983), Cuba (53,825) and
Haiti (37,765), historically Central American nationalities have
accumulated the highest number of encounters, i but for the
period from January-April 2022 the trend has been changing,
with now the nationality with the highest number of encounters
being Mexican followed by Cuban. (CBP, 2022).
From 2020 onward, and continuing into 2022, Mexican nationals
(mainly adults traveling alone) have again been the most
identied group amongst registered encounters, encompassing
as high as 66 per cent (362,251) of total encounters in 2020,
35 per cent in 2021 and 39 per cent in the rst four months of
2022. Large numbers of unaccompanied and separated children
(UASC) continue to be encountered at the southwest US
border – after reaching 37,916 in 2020, the total increased to
172,436 in 2021 and 47,324 already in the rst four months of
2022. (Idem)
On 1 April 2022 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) in the United States, in consultation with the DHS,
announced the termination of its Title 42 Public Health Order
which had suspended the right to introduce migrants into the
United States as a COVID-19 mitigation protocol (CDC, 2022).
Under this order, as of 23 May 2022, DHS was due to no longer
process families and single adults for expulsion pursuant to Title
42, instead processing them for removal under Title 8 (Ibid).
However, a US District Judge issued a nationwide injunction
blocking the end of Title 42 (Aguilera and Carlisle, 2022).
As such, the policy – and consequently, Title 42 expulsions –
remain active at the time of writing.
GRAPH 18: TOP 10 NATIONALITIES WITH THE HIGHEST RECORDS OF ENCOUNTERS IDENTIFIED IN 2022 (JANUARY -APRIL)
Source: CBP, Southwest Land Border Encounters, 2022.
301,657
93,248
73,291
57,857
41,659
34,007
29,681
23,912
12,872
Mexican
Cuban
Guatemalan
Honduran
Nicaraguan
Colombian
Venezuelan
Salvadoran
Ukrainian
Haitian
3. REGULAR PATHWAYS
While irregular movements dominate political agendas
and media reporting, the vast majority of migrants enter
countries on the continent regularly. Asylum and migratory
regularizations processes (both ordinary and extraordinary)
are in themselves considered a protection mechanism and one
of the most eective ways to guarantee migrants’ human rights
and a more perdurable socio-economic integration of foreign
populations in hosting societies. In Latin America in recent
years, several countries have adopted major regularization
programmes, especially for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
This section presents available data on those regular pathways
(ordinary and extraordinary mechanisms), established through
regional and bilateral agreements, extraordinary visa policies,
among other measures.
VISAS AND PERMITS GRANTED IN SOUTH AMERICA
In 2002, countries in South America took a fundamental step
towards achieving the free movement of people and advancing
the rights of migrants through the Agreement on Residence
for Nationals of the States Parties of MERCOSUR, Bolivia
and Chile (then extended to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Venezuela
12
).
The Agreement established common rules for citizens from
signatory countries soliciting residency in another signatory
member. The rules include “MERCOSUR nationality”
criteria that, jointly with the lack of criminal records and
the presentation of certain personal records, constitute the
basic requisites for obtaining residency. The Agreement also
exempts migrants in irregular situations who meet the criteria
and obtain residency from paying penalties or monetary
sanctions for their irregularity (IOM, 2022k).
The Agreement facilitates managing residence permits
and visas, easing the procedures and reducing application-
processing times. Since its entry into force in 2009 and until
12
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was suspended from MERCOSUR in 2016.
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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17
2020 (until which data are available), more than 3.3 million
residence permits were granted, with Argentina issuing the
most, followed by Chile and Brazil (IOM, 2022L).
As concerns Venezuelan nationals, Argentina and Uruguay use
the MERCOSUR agreement and apply it to those nationals.
Other countries, use extraordinary regularization measures
for Venezuelans.
From May 2021, when the Temporary Protection Statute
was implemented in Colombia, until May 2022, 1.38 million
Venezuelan citizens have accessed to a regular status,
representing 52 per cent of more than 2 million applicants
(Migración Colombia, 2022b). In Brazil, between January 2017
and March 2022 200,000 residencies have been granted to
Venezuelan migrants, 90 per cent correspond to a two-year
permit and 10 per cent for an undetermined period (IOM,
2022b). Ecuador and Peru also implement regularization
programmes for Venezuelan refugees and migrants.
Brazil also continues to be a destination country for nationals
from Haiti. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Brazil
oered a regular pathway through humanitarian visas and
other legal options to facilitate migration and regularize
migrants from that country. According to ocial data, there
are approximately 150,000 to 200,000 Haitians registered
in Brazil. The vast majority is single (76%) and male (62%),
between the ages of 25 and 40 years old (59%) (IOM, 2021e).
VISAS AND PERMITS GRANTED IN THE UNITED
STATES, MEXICO AND THE CARIBBEAN
Permanent Resident Cards (Green cards)
Lawful permanent resident (LPRs) status, also known as a
“green card,” legally authorizes non-citizens to live permanently
within the United States. LPRs may also apply to become U.S.
citizens if they meet certain requirements.
According to data from the United States Department of
Homeland Security, between Fiscal Years (FY) 2016 and 2020
(spanning October through September), nearly 1.9 million
nationals of Central America, North America and the Caribbean
newly obtained lawful permanent residence (“green cards”)
in the United States, the largest proportion of whom were
nationals of Mexico (41%), Cuba (14%), Dominican Republic
(14%), El Salvador (6%) and Jamaica (5%). Nationals of the region
also receive a notable proportion of the approximately 140,000
employment based LPRs made available in the United States each
year. For example, between 12 and 13 per cent of employment-
based LPRs issued each year between FYs 2017 and 2020 in the
United States were issued to nationals of the region (DHS,2021).
Data from FY 2021 (October 2020 – September 2021) indicate
that 31 per cent of the total 739,000 LPRs issued were issued to
nationals of Central America, North America and the Caribbean
while nine per cent were issued to nationals of South America
(DHS, 2021). As with previous years, nationals of Mexico, the
Dominican Republic, Cuba and El Salvador featured amongst the
top nationalities in the region receiving LPRs in FY 2021 (USCIS,
2021). Brazilians received the largest number of LPRs among South
American countries in FY 2021, reaching a total of 17,923 (Ibid).
Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
TPS is a temporary status that may be granted to eligible
foreign-born individuals who are unable to return to their
country of origin safely due to conditions or circumstances
preventing their country from adequately handling their return.
Nationals of a country may be designated with TPS due to an
ongoing armed conict, an environmental disaster, or other
extraordinary and temporary conditions (USCIS,2020).
GRAPH 19: CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF RESIDENCIES (TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT) GRANTED THROUGH THE MERCOSUR
RESIDENCE AGREEMENT, PERIOD 2009 - 2020
Source: Information provided by South American migration authorities and Ministries with jurisdiction over the issue, 2021.
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay
Temporary residence permits Permanent residence permits
18
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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Source: CRS, 2022.
TABLE 4: APPROVED TPS BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF THE BENEFICIARIES
LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN
COUNTRIES WITH TPS
APPROVED INDIVIDUALS
El Salvador 193,940
Honduras 58,625
Haiti 42,890
Venezuela 40,400
Nicaragua 3,130
In FY 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) began accepting new applications and renewals for
TPS under new and/or extended designations for South
Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic, Venezuela,
Yemen, and Haiti. On August 3rd, 2021, DHS published the
new designation of Haiti for TPS for 18 months until February
3rd, 2023.
On August 4, 2021, DHS announced the extension of the initial
180-day registration period to 18 months for applicants under
TPS designations for Venezuela, the Syrian Arab Republic and
Myanmar. (Congressional Research Service (CRS), 2022)
As of February 16th, 2022, approximately 354,625 foreign
nationals, who were residing in the United States, were
beneciaries of the TPS programme. El Salvador, Haiti,
Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela are the Latin American
and Caribbean countries currently designated with TPS.
In March and April 2022, the US Government announced three
new 18-month TPS designations for Ukraine, Afghanistan, and
Cameroon. DHS estimates that 59,600 Ukrainian nationals,
74,500 Afghan nationals, and 11,700 Cameroonian nationals
could be eligible to apply under these designations (CRS, 2022).
DEFERRED ACTION FOR CHILDHOOD
ARRIVALS (DACA)
DACA is an exercise of prosecutorial discretion that allows
migrants with unauthorized status who came to the United
States as children to request consideration of deferred action
(or temporary relief from deportation) and employment
authorization for a period of two years, subject to renewal.
Deferred action does not provide a person with lawful status in
the United States (USCIS, 2021b).
As of December 2021, there were approximately 611,470
active DACA recipients in the United States. Ninety percent of
DACA recipients come from the following countries: Mexico
(494,200), El Salvador (23,620), Guatemala (16,100) and
Honduras (14,670), in that order (USCIS,2021c).
In addition to these four main countries of origin of active
recipients, other countries include signicant numbers of
people who have been beneciaries of the DACA program,
in that order: Peru (5,770), Republic of Korea (5,740), Brazil
(4,670), Ecuador (4,340), Colombia (3,810) (Idem).
MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE UNITED
STATES AND CANADA
According to data from the American Community Survey, an
estimated 15.42 million migrant workers from Central America,
North America, South America and the Caribbean (including
approximately 2.9 million from the Caribbean, 9.9 million from
Central America and Mexico, 450,000 from Northern America
and 2.3 million from South America) were estimated to be living
in the United States as of 2019, roughly three in ve of them
(58%) male (United States Census Bureau, 2020). Naturalization
rates of migrants from the region increased signicantly between
2010 and 2019 – increasing from 54 per cent to 63 per cent of
Caribbean migrants, 24 per cent to 34 per cent for migrants
from Central America and Mexico, 44 per cent to 50 per cent of
migrants from Northern America and 44 per cent to 53 per cent
for South American migrants (Ibid).
Per data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
(IRCC), 126,840 temporary migrant workers from Central
America, Mexico, the United States and the Caribbean were
estimated to be living in Canada as of 2021, mainly from
Mexico, the United States, Haiti, Jamaica and Guatemala,
lling key labour market needs in agriculture and care work
and also high-skilled professions, such as doctors or engineers
(IRCC, n.d.a; IRCC, n.d.b). Between 2017 and 2021, a total of
120,000 nationals of Central America, North America and the
Caribbean obtained permanent residence in Canada (IRCC,
n.d.c). Of these, approximately 18 per cent obtained permanent
residency through economic/work-based channels (Ibid).
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19
H2A TEMPORARY AGRICULTURAL
PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES
The H-2A program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents
who meet specic regulatory requirements to bring foreign
nationals to the United States to ll temporary agricultural
jobs (USCIS, 2021d).
The United States issued 213,394 H-2A visas in the 2020 scal
year, up from 204,801 in scal year 2019. In 2020, 198,000 or
93 per cent of H-2A workers came from Mexico. Three other
countries sent more than 2,000 H-2A workers in 2020: South
Africa (5,508 visas), Jamaica (4,659) and Guatemala (2,123)
(Department of State, 2021).
Around 258,143 H2-A visas were issued in FY 2021, 97 per
cent went to people from Latin American countries: Mexico
(239,488), Jamaica (4,872), Guatemala (2,509), Peru (924), and
Nicaragua (783), were the countries with the highest number
of visas allocated, in that order. The main agricultural sectors
employing H2-A workers are vegetables, fruits and tree nuts,
eld crops, greenhouse and nursery, and animal products (Idem).
H2B TEMPORARY NON-AGRICULTURAL
PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES
The H2B visa program allows U.S. employers or U.S. agents
who meet specic regulatory requirements to bring foreign
nationals to the United States to ll temporary nonagricultural
jobs (USCIS, 2021d).
Approximately 55,000 H2B visas were allocated to people
from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean during scal
year 2020. Approximately 94,910 H2-B visas were issued in FY
2021, 92 per cent of the total were allocated to people from
Latin American countries. Main countries: Mexico (71,293),
Jamaica (8,956), Guatemala (3,464), Honduras (2,233) and El
Salvador (953). Top industries employing H2-B workers are
resort and hospitality services, retail sales, landscaping, food
service and processing, and construction.
On January 28th, 2022, the Department of Homeland
Security and the Department of Labor published a joint
temporary nal rule increasing the numerical limit (or cap)
on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 20,000 additional visas
during scal year (FY) 2022 for positions with start dates on
or before March 31, 2022.
On May 16, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability
of an additional 35,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker
visas during the second half of scal year (FY) 2022. These visas
are for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers
on or after April 1st, 2022, through September 30th, 2022.
The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of 23,500 visas
available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa or
were otherwise granted H-2B status during one of the last
three scal years. The remaining 11,500 visas are reserved
for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Haiti,
regardless of whether they are returning workers.
REGIONAL VISITOR CARD (TVR) IN MEXICO
The TVR allows nationals or permanent residents of Guatemala,
Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador to move (enter and exit) across
Caribbean Women | © IOM Alejandro CARTAGENA Mexico. 2022
20
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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the southern border of Mexico through points in the states of
Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Quintana Roo and Yucatan. The
period of stay permitted is up to seven consecutive days within
these states. The card is free of cost and valid for ve years. The
TVR does not entitle the holder to work in Mexico.
In 2021, 64,354 TVRs were issued, of which 97 percent
(62,225) were granted to Guatemalans, two percent to
Salvadorans and one percent (638) to Hondurans. 93 percent
of these TVRs were issued at border points in the state of
Chiapas (Unidad de Política Migratoria (UPM), 2021).
Between January-March 2022, 9,574 TVRs have already been
issued, 94 percent of the people who have obtained this card
come from Guatemala, four percent from Belize, one percent
from El Salvador and one percent from Honduras (idem).
CARICOM AND OECS
The free movement of persons is a core component of
Caribbean development strategies and is a fundamental
element of the organizational structures and regional
integration arrangements of both the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean
States (OECS). The components on free movement of
persons for each dier in their provisions and application, but
both recognize that free mobility is conducive to economic
and regional development (IOM, 2019).
In the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) structure,
all nationals from CARICOM countries are granted free
movement and a six-month stay upon arrival to any other
Member State, under “Facilitation of Travel.” CARICOM
nationals also have the right to establish a business in any CSME
Member State, referred to as the “Right of Establishment.”.
In the OECS, the free movement of citizens of the Protocol
of Member States of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union
(ECEU) is allowed, including free mobility of labour.
Figures on “facilitation of travel” indicate that since inception
up until 2017, there was a total of 2,040,750 movements
facilitated in the region. Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana,
represent the biggest sending countries, while Barbados and
Trinidad and Tobago are the countries receiving the most
CARICOM nationals (Idem).
GRAPH 20: AVERAGE COSTS OF SENDING USD 200 BY REGION, IN Q4 2021
Source: World Bank, 2021b
Europe &
Central Asia
Latin American
& Caribbean
East Asia
& Pacic
Average Cost of
Sending $200 (%)
Middle East &
North Africa
South
Asia
Sub-Saharan
Africa
5.91 6.05
6.37
ECA excl.
Russia
6.37 7.835.60 4.30
4. MIGRANTS’
CONTRIBUTION TO
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
During the pandemic, migrants have made important
contributions as they tend to be overrepresented in critical
sectors. For instance, in the United States an estimated almost
70 per cent of the foreign-born work in critical infrastructure
sectors, compared to 65 per cent of native workers, according
to the Center for Migration Studies based on census data for
2018 (Kerwin and Warren, 2020). Further available data for
the United States for 2015-16 indicate that 30.2 per cent of
doctors were foreign-born and 16.4 per cent of nurses (OECD,
2019). In addition, a quarter of doctors working in the United
States as of 2017/18 was trained in another country (OECD,
2020), mostly India, Pakistan, but also Caribbean Island states,
the Philippines, Mexico and Canada (OECD, 2019).
REMITTANCES
During 2021, remittance inows saw strong gains in Latin
America and the Caribbean (by 25.3%). Mexico was second
among the top ve recipient receiving countries for remittances
worldwide in 2021, with only India having received more
remittances. (World Bank, 2022a)
Globally, the average cost of sending USD 200 was 6 per
cent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021, double of SDG
target 10. c that calls for reducing the transaction costs of
remittances to less than 3 percent by 2030. After South Asia,
Latin America and the Caribbean has the lowest average
costs compared to other regions worldwide, indicating it is
on a better path than most other regions to reaching this
target of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations.
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21
GRAPH 21: TOP REMITTANCE RECIPIENTS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, 2021
Source: World Bank, 2022.
$ Billion, 2021 Percentage of GDP, 2021
Mexico 54.1
El Salvador 26.4
El Salvador 7.5
Nicaragua
18
Guatemala 15.4
Honduras
Jamaica
25.5
Honduras 7.2
Dominican Republic
15.1
Dominican Republic 10.7
Haiti
24.0
Haiti 4.4
Dominica
11.3
7.8
Ecuador 4.1
St. Vincent and
the Grenadines
Colombia 8.6
Guatemala
20
Brazil 4.2
Belize
10.2
7
Jamaica 3.6
Ocially recorded remittance ows to Latin America reached
USD 131 billion in 2021, up 25 per cent from 2020. With
improved prospects for the job market in the United States,
remittance ows to the Latin American region are expected
to continue growing at 9.1 per cent in 2022 and 7.7 per cent
in 2023. (World Bank, 2022c)
According to World Bank estimates, migrant remittances
registered through formal channels to countries of the
Americas increased signicantly in 2021. For example,
between 2020 and 2021, remittances received in Mexico
increased by 25 per cent (reaching USD 54 billion) in
Guatemala by 35 per cent (reaching USD 15 billion), in the
Dominican Republic by 26 per cent (reaching USD 11 billion),
in Colombia by 24 per cent (to USD 9 billion) in El Salvador
by 26 per cent (reaching USD 7 billion) and in Honduras by
29 per cent (reaching 7 billion).
Overall, registered remittances inows to 28 countries and
territories of Central America, North America and the
Caribbean for which data were available were in excess of
USD 117 billion in 2021, compared with USD 96 billion in
2020 (Idem).
Total remittance inows to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
combined reached USD 24 billion in 2021, compared with
USD 19 billion in 2020. The increase in remittance ows
was pushed by an important growth in remittances from the
United States and to a lesser extent from Spain (Idem)
The World Bank estimates also show that in many countries
of the Americas remittances constitute a growing proportion
of total GDP and are by far the largest source of external
nancing received in the region. It is estimated that as of
2021, migrant remittances constituted 26 per cent of total
GDP in El Salvador, 26 per cent in Honduras, 24 per cent in
Jamaica, 20 per cent in Haiti and 18 per cent in Guatemala.
Remittances represented more than 10 per cent of GDP in
8 countries and territories across Central America and the
Caribbean in 2021. (Idem)
DIASPORAS
Diaspora members can make manifold contributions to
human development, be it via collective projects, cultural and
social remittances. By way of example, the Eastern Caribbean
region (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Commonwealth of
Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) has some of the
highest emigration rates in the world: for every Caribbean
national living in their home country there is one person
of the Caribbean diaspora living abroad. Members of the
Caribbean diaspora are diverse, well-educated, and known
for maintaining strong ties with their home countries. This is
reected not only by the high levels of remittances they send
home, but also through diasporas’ consistent engagement
with their communities of origin and interest in supporting
the development of their home countries (IOM, 2022n)
22
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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MAP 3: MEASURES FOR UKRANIANS AND NATIONALS OF LATIN AMERICA AND
THE CARIBBEAN RETURNED FROM UKRAINE
On March 17, 2022, it was
announced the launch of the
Canada-Ukraine Authorization
for Emergency Travel (CUAET), a
process that facilitates the entry
and stay of migrants of Ukrainian
origin and their families in Canada,
with the opportunity to stay in
the country for up to 3 years with
access to work permits.
Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees
are at the U.S.-Mexico border
waiting for U.S. immigration
agents to let them in on
humanitarian grounds. CBP has
announced that Ukrainians may
be exempt from the asylum
limits policy, designed to prevent
the spread of Covid-19 under
the application of Title 42. On
March 3, 2022, DHS announced
the designation of Ukraine for
Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) for 18 months.
725 Ecuadorian nationals
have returned to the country
of which 657 did it via
humanitarian ights supported
by the government. These
ights included citizens from
Colombia, Peru, Algeria and 32
family members from Ukraine.
IOM supported the transport of
nine Colombians to the border
(Rumichaca-Ipiales) where they
were received by Colombian
authorities and IOM sta. On
25 March, a ight arrived in
the Ecuadorian capital with 14
people who ed Ukraine: eight
Ecuadorian citizens and six
Ukrainians.
At the beginning of March 2022,
it was estimated that around
3,000 Ukrainian tourists were
stranded in the Dominican
Republic, the Dominican
government guaranteed the
accommodation and humanitarian
repatriation ights for these
tourists. On March 4, the rst
humanitarian repatriation ight
was made with a group of 282
Ukrainian tourists.
As of 8 April 289 nationals had
been evacuated from Ukraine, out
of the total of 303 Colombians
reported by the Ministry of
Foreign Aairs in that country.
There were still 14 Colombians
in Ukraine and 120 in Poland. 17
nationals have been repatriated
and, at the moment, there are
no Colombians evacuated who
wish to return to Colombia.
On 11 March, the Colombian
Foreign Ministry announced
that, in cooperation with the
Government of Ecuador, nine
Colombians were included in
the third humanitarian ight that
arrived in Quito on 14 March.
The government reported the
evacuation of 50 Peruvians from
Ukraine, 17 of whom have already
returned to the country. On
March 24, the Foreign Ministry
announced that the Honorary
Consulate of Peru in Kiev will
issue virtual laissez-passers, in
order to facilitate their delivery to
nationals and their children.
On 8 March, the Government
announced measures to facilitate
the protection of Ukrainian
nationals and their families who
wish to enter Argentina, as well as
to enable the rapid reunication
of Ukrainian citizens with their
families. The government enabled
the category of temporary
resident for humanitarian reasons
for aected Ukrainians. As of
26 March, 127 Argentinians had
managed to leave Ukraine for
dierent countries, according to
the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
On 3 March Brazil put in place
Normative Resolution # 28
which grants humanitarian
permits to Ukranians aected
by the conict. Between 3 -
31 March, Brazil has granted
74 humanitarian visas and 62
residence permits, including 27
for humanitarian reasons to
Ukrainians.
Colombia
Canada
Mexico
Dominican
Republic
United
States
Brazil
Peru
Ecuador
Argentina
Colombia
Brazil
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador Argentina
Canada
Peru
Mexico and
the United
States
RECENT MIGRATION TRENDS IN THE AMERICAS
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23
5. CLIMATE AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
AS A DRIVER OF HUMAN
MOBILITY
Most climate-related displacement and migration happens
within national boundaries, with international movements
occurring between neighboring countries sharing borders.
In 2021, disasters provoked 23.7 million new internal
displacements worldwide, of which only 1.7 million happened
in the Americas. The countries most aected by new disaster
displacement in 2021 – including evacuations – were the United
States (573,000 new disaster displacements), Brazil (449,000),
Haiti (220,000) and Cuba (194,000). Weather related events
(notably storms and oods, but also wildres) remained the
prime drivers of disaster displacement in the region in 2021,
followed by geophysical hazards (the Haiti Earthquake of early
2021 and the Soufriere Volcano eruption in Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines). Protracted displacement is a concern in several
countries of the region (Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre (IDMC),2022)
GRAPH 22: NEW INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE AND DISASTERS IN THE AMERICAS
BETWEEN 2012 AND 2021
Source: IDMC, 2022.
Conict and violence Disasters
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
1.8 m
0.7 m
1.6 m 1.6 m
3 m
4.5 m
0.2 m 0.2 m
0.3 m
0.4 m 0.4 m
0.5 m
0.4 m
0.6 m
0.2 m
0.4 m
1.7 m
1.5 m
4.5 m
1.7 m
The Caribbean, Central and South America are extremely
exposed to the impacts derived from climate change, this
condition is aggravated by socio-economic and environmental
conditions such as poverty inequality, and high population
density, deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and
high dependence of local economies on natural resources.
Based on the ndings from the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), it is notorious how some areas are
more sensitive to generate climatic migration such as: the
Andes, the dry areas of the Amazonia, northern Brazil, and the
northern countries in Central America. (IPCC, 2022)
Central America is a region with a high exposure to the
impacts of events related to climate change based on its
(hydrometeorological) and geophysical factors. This is also
demonstrated by the INFORM Report 2021, which records
the level of risk of humanitarian crises and disasters to which
countries around the world could be exposed; the 2021 report
considers six of the seven countries in the region to be between
medium and high levels. These events have the potential to
generate major disasters and trigger diverse and signicant
ows of human mobility such as displacement, international
migration ows, and planned relocation. (IASC and EC, 2021).
Literature reviews highlight the exposure of Central American
countries to multiple hazards and their impacts on dierent
forms of mobility (IOM, 2021g). Recent projections highlight
the pressure that climate migration will put on cities of Central
America and Mexico under pessimistic scenarios, which
requires forward looking and comprehensive action (Mayors
Migration Council, 2022)
The Caribbean region is particularly at risk in regard to climate-
induced migration, specic hazards resulting from warmer
temperatures, such as rising sea levels and more frequent
and extreme weather events, make the Caribbean a highly
vulnerable sub-region, with many island nations, and coastal
communities (IPCC, 2021). Studies in the Caribbean show
the strong gender dimensions of disaster displacement and
environmental migration (IOM and ECLAC, 2021). Evacuations
are often leveraged as forms of disaster risk reduction (IOM,
2022m) and planned relocation processes are increasingly
considered as climate adaptation measures of last resorts, with
inherent challenges (IOM, 2021d).
24
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29
U.S. Department of State
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19-global-governance-migration-and
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31
Regional Office
for South America
www.robuenosaires.iom.int
OIMSuramerica
OIMSuramerica
OIMSuramerica
ONUMigración
Regional Office for Central America,
North America and the Caribbean
www.rosanjose.iom.int
OIMCentroNorteAmerica
OIMCentroAmer
OIM Centro, Norte América y el Caribe
ONUMigración
