Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Regional Profile

By Diego Chaves-Gonzalez and Carlos Echeverria Estrada

According to the Regional Coordination Platform for the Response for Venezuelans (R4V), co-led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and composed of more than 150 organizations, as of June 2020, more than 5 million refugees and migrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela had left their country due to the ongoing political and economic crises there, with more than 4 million of them migrating to other Latin American and Caribbean countries. Until 2015, the region had largely been characterized by high levels of emigration, and neighboring countries had never experienced migrant inflows at this scale.1 Since then, receiving countries have largely maintained an “open-door” approach toward Venezuelans, with significant policy innovations allowing many to enter, remain on an interim basis, and receive legal status via existing visa categories and special regularization programs, as well as the reception of requests for asylum. However, the COVID-19 pandemic that hit the region in early 2020 has added a new layer of complexity. Receiving countries now face the challenge of managing a public-health crisis while also addressing the needs of displaced Venezuelans and the communities in which they live.

Washington, DC and Panama City: Migration Policy Institute and International Organization for Migration. 2020. 31p.