Colombian President Ivan Duque has announced a generous policy toward Venezuelan refugees in Colombia, including giving citizenship to children born in Colombia. With Venezuelan immigration likely to continue, though, Colombia needs to begin thinking about the migrants' long-term needs.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on immigration and integration policy around the world.
Colombia has historically been a source of migration rather than a destination, but that has changed in recent years due largely to the ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Approximately 1.4 million Venezuelans have fled to Colombia in recent years, according to the United Nations, with potentially hundreds of thousands more expected before the end of the year. As part of his government’s response to rising Venezuelan immigration to Colombia, President Ivan Duque announced last month that 24,000 children born to Venezuelan refugees would be granted Colombian citizenship.