{"id":146154,"date":"2025-05-31T06:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/146154\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T06:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:53:14","slug":"colombian-migration-shifts-southward-amid-trumps-hardline-policies-and-new-barriers-in-the-eu-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/146154\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombian migration shifts southward amid Trump\u2019s hardline policies and new barriers in the EU | International"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colombian migration abroad is undergoing significant change. Although the number of people leaving Colombia follows a similar trend \u2014 by May 15, 145,000 people had emigrated this year; while in all of 2024, the total was 314,000 \u2014 the dynamics have shifted, mainly due to the anti-immigration policies of countries like the United States<\/a> and the increasing barriers imposed by others such as Mexico and the European Union. This situation has pushed many to look toward new destinations, such as neighboring countries to the south: Chile, Argentina, or Brazil.<\/p>\n

Data from Colombia\u2019s Migration Office show that Spain was the main destination for Colombians in 2024, with 107,000 people, and is on track to lead again in 2025. So far this year, more than 64,000 people have immigrated to the European country. The Spanish government, led by Pedro S\u00e1nchez from the Socialist Party (PSOE), is one of the few in the European Union that still promotes a relatively open migration policy, with measures such as a draft law for mass regularization.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s stance contrasts with that of other European countries such as the United Kingdom \u2014 which reinstated the visa requirement for Colombians two years after it had been removed \u2014 or Germany, where asylum applications from nationals increased exponentially, creating tensions between Berlin and Bogot\u00e1. An agreement between both countries at the end of 2024 has already begun to take effect: in the first three months of 2025, those applications fell by 42%. <\/p>\n

At the same time, the European Commission, the EU\u2019s executive body, has proposed that Colombia be considered a \u201csafe country\u201d in order to limit asylum claims. Colombians were the nationality that submitted the most asylum requests in the EU last year, with more than 50,000 petitions, according to Eurostat.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, under Donald Trump\u2019s administration<\/a>, the United States has become a challenging environment for migrants, as the government\u2019s policies have caused many to give up on the American dream. Colombian emigration to the United States, which peaked in this decade with 111,000 people in 2021, has gradually declined. So far this year, only 25,000 people have traveled to the U.S. not to return, according to data from Colombia\u2019s Migration Office. <\/p>\n

The flow of irregular migrants has also dropped. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), only 365 Colombians were detained at the Mexico border in February \u2014 the lowest figure in the last four years, a 97% decrease compared to the same month last year.<\/p>\n

The barriers imposed by Trump<\/a> \u2014 persecution, detentions, and deportations of migrants<\/a> \u2014 have impacted the entire flow of people heading north to America. Mexico, the bridge for the vast majority to reach the U.S., is no longer a top destination for Colombians. After three years of surpassing 100,000 emigrants, this year only a little over 6,000 Colombian have permanently moved to Mexico. The number of inadmissions hasn\u2019t helped: in 2024, around 50,000 people were returned to Colombia, many of them travelers who reported mistreatment by Mexican immigration authorities.<\/p>\n

A significant movement<\/p>\n

Migration doesn\u2019t stop; it changes direction. Obstacles in the north have pushed many to seek alternatives in South America. That is why countries like Brazil, Chile and Argentina are now new focal points. The number of Colombians who emigrated in just the first five months of 2025 to those three countries already exceeds the total for each in 2024. <\/p>\n

Simon Tomasi, regional manager of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), an entity attached to the Danish Refugee Council, notes that there is \u201ca less visible but significant movement\u201d toward these countries. \u201cFor years, we saw large flows of migrants through the Dari\u00e9n Gap<\/a> or an increase in asylum requests in Europe; now many are looking for a stable life in the south,\u201d he said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n

An MMC survey of 500 Colombian migrants found that those who relocated to other South American countries view the free movement agreements between the Andean Community and Mercosur as a significant advantage. However, the less positive side is reflected in the xenophobia that many report experiencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing anti-immigrant rhetoric strengthen in the region, which also associates migration with crime. In countries like Chile, for example, more and more people link public insecurity with migrants,\u201d said Tomasi. Far-right figures such as Argentina\u2019s Javier Milei and Chile\u2019s Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast echo similar rhetoric to Trump<\/a> and advocate for measures reminiscent of his policies. <\/p>\n

Colombians have continued to leave the country over the last 50 years. This pattern has continued even after 2016, when peace agreements with the FARC guerrilla ended a decades-long war. The dissident factions of this guerrilla and the rise of other armed groups have disrupted the sense of security in various regions of the country. The MMC survey shows that 62% left the country \u201cbecause of violence, insecurity, and conflict.\u201d Added to this are those who felt they did not earn enough money in their jobs \u2014 81% of the total.<\/p>\n

Natural disasters and the effects of climate change have also become significant motivations for Colombians when deciding to migrate. Events such as the drought caused by the El Ni\u00f1o phenomenon, or the floods that affected departments like La Guajira and Choc\u00f3 during 2024, have increased both internal and external displacement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe documented that environmental factors have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable, who are the most likely to migrate outside the country because staying is no longer a viable option,\u201d said Tomasi.<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Colombian migration abroad is undergoing significant change. Although the number of people leaving Colombia follows a similar trend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[10105,29429,25911,32,2000,299,5187,1699,62884],"class_list":{"0":"post-146154","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-argentina","9":"tag-chile","10":"tag-colombia","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-eu","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-european","15":"tag-european-union","16":"tag-gustavo-petro"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114601132810841418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}