Nearly 170,000 Colombians, a record number, were detained throughout fiscal year 2023 when trying to enter the United States illegally or to request asylum.
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The figure represents an increase of close to 30 percent compared to 2022 when 130,000 nationals were arrested.
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But put in historical context, the increase in the flow of Colombian migrants to the United States has been dramatic in the last two years.
To put it in context, the previous figure for 2021 – and until then the highest that had been recorded – barely reached 10,000 people.
In fact, Colombians were – by far – the group that grew the most in terms of arrests in these last 24 months with a jump of 1,700 percent.
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Ukrainians, who went from 9,300 in 2022 to 100,000 in 2023, and Venezuelans, from 50,000 in 2021 to 330,000 in 2023, occupied the second and third boxes, respectively, when the increase is accounted for from this perspective.
In general terms, Colombians were the fifth group with the most migrants detained trying to enter the United States throughout fiscal year 2023.
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The table is headed by Mexicans (735,000), Guatemalans (221,000), Hondurans (216,000) and Cubans (200,000).
The figures, recently published by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CPB), also confirmed that in 2023 all previous records in terms of arrests at the various borders of the United States will be broken. (land and by air or sea).
In total, more than three million two hundred thousand people were detained, shattering the previous record of two million seven hundred thousand from 2022 and representing an increase of 20 percent.
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But if the year 2021 is taken as a base, the increase in the flow of migrants to the United States has been more than 60 percent in 24 months.
The most delicate thing is that Despite the measures taken by Joe Biden’s administration to contain the massive arrival of migrants, fiscal year 2024 shows no signs that it will be better.
They even indicate that it could be worse. In October, the first month of the year that has been measured, there have already been 310 thousand arrests. A figure higher than the same month last year and which, if there are no changes, anticipates that 2024 will be another historic year in the volume of arrests.
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In the case of Colombians, more than 14,000 people have already been detained so far this fiscal period, a number very similar to that registered in September and which represents a considerable jump compared to the figures for June, July and August when the flow seemed to reduce.
But if the case of the Colombians is worrying, that of the Venezuelans is alarming.
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Despite the various programs announced by Biden to promote legal and orderly migration, thousands continue to arrive at the southern border and in record numbers. In September alone, the last month of the 2023 fiscal period, more than 72,000 were arrested, the highest number in history.
And last month another 45,000, the second highest number recorded since these types of measurements were carried out. The volume of Venezuelans arriving in the United States is so high (335,000 in 2023) that at this rate they could soon be on par with migrants from Mexico, a country that has always registered the highest values given that it shares a border with the United States.
Washington recently announced, probably for this reason, an agreement to deport Venezuelans expressly. But in the three weeks since the program began, they have only repatriated about 3,000 (less than 10 percent of the total number of arrestees)..
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In part, this mass exodus is due to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Venezuela and the saturation in other countries – such as Colombia – where they were arriving before. But also, to the Biden administration’s decision to grant temporary protected status and work permits to more than half a million Venezuelans and to the perception that if Donald Trump wins the presidency next year, anti-immigration measures will be toughened.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
In X @sergom68
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