Attachments
CONTEXT
The migratory emergency continues to affect Central American countries, with a growing numbers of people in transit to the North. In the first four months of 2024, 173,748 irregular migrants have already been registered according to the National Migration Institute (NMI), a figure that represents more than double the number of entries compared to those reported in the same period of 2023, when 83,040 people entered Honduras irregularly.
While irregular migration continues to increase in the region, the United States seeks to streamline its systems to prevent it, having recently passed several laws aimed at curbing the entry of irregular migrants, particularly in the states of Florida, Texas and Alabama.
In addition, the United States and Mexico will implement immediate action on the issue of illegal border crossings. The presidents of both nations have expressed their commitment to promote initiatives to address the root causes of migration throughout the Western Hemisphere.
In this regional context, the government of Colombia is processing the regularization of more than 600,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, which will allow them to stay and work legally in the country.
Meanwhile in Panama, the idea of closing the Darien gap to South American migrants, for security reasons, put forward by the winning presidential candidate José Raúl Mulino, has gained momentum. “We are going to close Darien and we are going to repatriate all these people as appropriate, respecting human rights,” said Mulino.
This jungle has become one of the most important routes for irregular migration, just in 2023 more than 520,000 people crossed, including 113,000 children and adolescents.
In the first four months of 2024, an average of 1,436 migrants per day entered the country through the Las Manos border, seeking to continue on to Guatemala and Mexico, with the idea of reaching the United States. Most of the migrant come from South America, Africa and The Caribbean.
It is important to note that these figures are official and refer to irregular entries that have been registered with the migration authorities; however, there is a significant number of migrant entries that are not captured in any type of registration or statistics. Achieving an estimate of this migratory group represents a significant challenge for the humanitarian community.