Regional Responses to Nicaraguan Outflows (Panel 2)

Carlos Andrés Torres Salas, Vice Minister of the Interior and Police, Costa Rica

Harold Villegas-Román, Advisor to the Vice Minister of the Interior and Police; and Commissioner, Restricted Visa and Refugee Commission, Costa Rica

Alberto Cortés Ramos, Professor, Political Science Department, University of Costa Rica

Moderator: Manuel Orozco, Director, Migration, Remittances, and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue

As crises continue to unfold in Venezuela and Nicaragua, more than 4.5 million people have left both of those countries, with most settling in neighboring countries in the region. To date, Latin American countries have generally responded by finding pragmatic ways to receive and integrate migrants and refugees from Venezuela and Nicaragua.

This series of panel discussions examines the challenges ahead as countries in the region seek to chart future strategies for responding to large-scale forced migration flows. Leading policymakers and key stakeholders from the region, as well as representatives of major international institutions involved with the regional response, offer their views on changing entry requirements; legal pathways and asylum processes; access to education, health care, and public services; and the opportunities and challenges that these migration flows present for the future of the region.

Remarks given in Spanish have been translated into English in this recording.