Migration Pressures on Colombia Worsen as U.S. Policies Shift
Dr. Stephanie López explores how recent changes in U.S. migration policies affect Colombia, which hosts nearly 3 million displaced Venezuelans.
The surprising – and shocking for some – decision of U.S. President Trump to freeze foreign aid on the first day of his administration and ultimately terminate USAID, the agency responsible for foreign aid, has had devastating impacts on the beneficiary communities of its programs worldwide. In Latin America and the Caribbean, Colombia was the second-largest recipient of foreign aid from the United States in 2024, behind Haiti.
Moreover, Trump has adopted increasingly restrictive immigration policies. The ripple effects of these policies are being felt far beyond their southern border. Colombia is squarely in the middle of these dynamics, serving as a land bridge between Central America and South America. Over the past ten years, it has become both a transit route for migrants to North America and a destination for nearly 3 million displaced Venezuelans fleeing an authoritarian regime in place for more than two decades.
Yet donor responses remain slow, fragmented, and far removed from the new realities on the ground. While Washington shifts the goalposts, Colombia is left holding the line, with limited tools and little flexibility. Colombia, as a hosting and transit country, needs international solidarity to cope with the arising challenges from these decisions.
Impacts of U.S. Migration Policy Shifts
Recently, the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, a humanitarian immigration program allowing them to stay legally in the U.S., affecting over 350,000 individuals who will face deportation or remain undocumented after September 10th. Other recent U.S. decisions regarding migration and asylum, including increasing deportations, have reshaped regional migration dynamics with little coordination downstream.
These policies, whether intentional or not, effectively shift border control to countries like Colombia without providing the resources needed to handle this responsibility. Colombia is likely to see an increase in Venezuelan returnees and deportees, in addition to Colombian deportees, with little planning or reintegration support.
Colombia stands at the crossroads of various mobilities. Migrants who would have passed through now stay longer. Asylum seekers stuck in limbo are clustering in Colombian cities while waiting for U.S. processing. Venezuelan nationals hoping to access humanitarian parole programs must navigate increasing delays and pending court decisions.
A Fragile System Under Pressure
Colombia’s response has been remarkably open by regional standards. The 2021 Temporary Protection Statute (ETPV) gave displaced Venezuelans access to legal status and basic services, but it has now ended with few exceptions. However, Colombia has one of the lowest refugee recognition rates in Latin America. This contradicts its international commitments under the 1984 Cartagena Declaration, recently renewed, which expands refugee criteria to include people fleeing generalized violence, state collapse, and human rights violations.
Even individuals fleeing persecution in Venezuela or armed groups in Haiti are rarely recognized. People who file for asylum often wait years without a response—all while living in legal limbo. With U.S. migration policies increasingly pushing responsibility onto transit and host countries, Colombia’s asylum system is under quiet but growing pressure.
Municipalities bear the heaviest burden. Local governments receive little support from either the national government or international bodies amid rising demands for local services. Many mayors lack sufficient budgets, technical resources, or coordination mechanisms to manage migration effectively. This leads to governance fatigue and underfunded response strategies.
Where Should the International Community Step In?
What we are witnessing is a profound policy mismatch: a U.S. migration strategy built on deterrence and externalization, and a Colombian system that is absorbing its consequences with too little international backing. If donors want to avoid a governance, humanitarian, and protection crisis in Colombia, they must act decisively—and with eyes wide open to the new geopolitical context.
The international community must recognize that Colombia’s current role is not voluntary—it’s structural. It should fund legal access and humanitarian services in transit zones, push for regional cooperation to share responsibility fairly, and monitor rights violations, particularly at border crossings and deportation centers. Additionally, donors should invest in Colombia’s asylum system, labor market inclusion, and documentation programs.
Colombia and other countries in the region have to shift away from U.S.-centric solutions and recognize South America’s central role in the protection system. Promoting rights-based, evidence-informed migration messaging is key to fostering social cohesion in light of possible anti-immigrant narratives.
Dr. Stephanie López-Villamil is a research partner at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn, Germany.
Image: This image was sourced from the Flickr gallery of the National Police of Colombia. CC BY-SA 2.0
