On the Move: Migration Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean

In this excellent, timely, and accessible brief, experts from the Migration Policy Institute survey recent trends in mass migration across the Western Hemisphere and the various policy responses of national governments. Since 2010, the explosion in regional migration has been driven largely by devastating crises in three countries: Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. In just over a decade, nearly eight million Venezuelans have departed the hellscape created by President Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro. Latin American countries that have received large numbers of migrants, such as Chile, Colombia, and Peru, have generally shown empathy toward the new arrivals, allowing them to obtain legal status and secure access to social services. At the same time, in reaction to the sharp increases and public visibility of migrant flows, governments have begun to tighten border controls and strengthen their institutional capacities to regulate migration.