08/22/2024 – 20:56
After identifying an exponential increase in requests for asylum, the Brazilian government decided to change the procedure for some passengers arriving in the country. In the case of travelers who disembark with a planned stopover at another destination, but attempt to request asylum with the Brazilian authorities, the determination is now that they continue their journey or return to their place of origin, according to the Ministry of Justice.
The government believes that the abnormal flow is due to the actions of criminal organizations and is linked to illegal routes to the United States and Canada. According to the ministry, this measure only applies to those who do not have a visa to enter Brazil and whose final destination is another country, and is not a form of deportation. Until Monday, the 26th, passengers who are in transit and request asylum will still have their requests processed.
– As of this Wednesday, the 21st, there were 481 people in the restricted international transit area at Cumbica Airport, in Guarulhos, in Greater São Paulo.
The government’s decision was taken after the Federal Police pointed out that Brazil had become a route for criminal organizations that smuggle immigrants and traffic people.
“Authorities have begun to identify an exponential increase in nationals coming mainly from Asian countries. These travelers have their airline tickets issued with final destinations in other South American countries,” the ministry states.
Once in the airport’s international transit area, in a situation of stopovers and/or connections, these travelers give up on the final leg of their trips (often even getting rid of their original boarding passes), remaining in this area illegally, according to the ministry.
“The Federal Police identified that travelers in this situation are advised by criminal organizations to apply for refuge to enter Brazilian territory, as an undue replacement for the need for an entry visa to Brazil,” the ministry added.
Investigations by the Federal Police revealed that the objective of these travelers is not to request protection from the Brazilian State through the refugee institute, but rather to continue their journey towards the north of the Americas, mainly to the United States and Canada.
Requests jumped from 69 in 2013 to 6.3 thousand this year
According to the Ministry of Justice, data on requests for refuge at Guarulhos International Airport began to “draw attention”:
– in 2013, the number of applications was 69; in 2023, applications reached the level of 4,239, registering a growth of more than 61 times;
– from January of this year until August 21, 6,329 requests for recognition of refugee status were filed in Guarulhos.
Of all the asylum applications received between 2023 and June 27, 2024, which totaled more than 8,300, only 117 people sought to obtain the National Migration Registry, a card made available to all asylum seekers in Brazil. Additionally, only 262 people applied for a CPF.
THE State showed in June that around 200 immigrants, most of them Indians, were being held at Guarulhos airport. According to immigration and judicial authorities, the retention was due to an unusual flow of foreigners arriving without entry permission and also to a problem in the system for registering asylum applications, a request that would allow temporary entry.
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