Latin American Responses to the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan Migration Crises

Welcome Remarks and Overview: Andrew Selee, President, Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Regional Responses to Venezuelan Migration (Panel 1)

Frieda Roxana Del Águila Tuesta, Superintendent of Migration, Peru

Christian Krüger Sarmiento, Director, Migration Colombia

Andrés Alfonso Ramírez Silva, Director, Mexican Refugee Commission (COMAR)

Hernán Yánez González, Under Secretary of International Protection and Assistance for Immigrants, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador

Jose Tomás Vicuña, National Director, Servicio Jesuita de Migrantes, Chile

Raísa Ortiz Cetra, Member, International Team, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales, Argentina

Moderator: Andrew Selee, President, MPI

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 in this recording.