Colombian president orders immigration raids, vows deportations of migrants without legal status
- Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has announced plans to deport thousands of migrants without residence permits, primarily targeting Venezuelans.
- He stated that law enforcement will first focus on migrants committing crimes before targeting those without legal status.
- De la Espriella's administration marks a significant shift in Colombia's immigration policy, which previously aimed to protect Venezuelan migrants.
- As of August, approximately 2.8 million Venezuelans were living in Colombia, making it the largest Venezuelan diaspora.
- Colombia's national immigration service has not issued new temporary residency permits for three years.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has promised to deport thousands of migrants who are in the country without residence permits, mainly Venezuelans, as he attempts to make significant changes to the nation’s immigration policies that he says will reduce crime.
De la Espriella, who was sworn into office three weeks ago, said that he would order the country’s national immigration service to conduct raids with Colombian police as early as this week.
The ultra conservative leader, who is closely aligned with the U.S. President Donald Trump, said that law enforcement will first target migrants who are “committing crimes” and then, those who are living in the country without regular status.
Most migrants living in Colombia come from neighboring Venezuela, a nation that lost about a fifth of its population over the past decade as Venezuelans fled a repressive regime that oversaw years of economic turmoil, and a 75% contraction in the nation’s GDP. Around 2.8 million Venezuelans were living in Colombia as of August, according to the United Nations, making it the largest Venezuelan diaspora.
哥伦比亚总统下令进行移民突袭，誓言驱逐无合法身份的移民
哥伦比亚（美联社）——哥伦比亚总统阿贝拉多·德拉埃斯普里埃拉承诺驱逐数千名在该国没有居留许可的移民，主要是委内瑞拉人，因为他试图对国家的移民政策进行重大改变，他表示这将减少犯罪。
德拉埃斯普里埃拉在三周前宣誓就职，他表示将指示国家移民局与哥伦比亚警方一起进行突袭，最早将在本周进行。
这位与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普密切相关的极端保守派领导人表示，执法部门将首先针对“犯罪”的移民，然后再针对那些在该国没有合法身份的移民。
生活在哥伦比亚的大多数移民来自邻国委内瑞拉，过去十年中，委内瑞拉失去了约五分之一的人口，因为委内瑞拉人逃离了一个经历了多年经济动荡的压迫性政权，国家GDP收缩了75%。根据联合国的数据，截至八月，大约280万名委内瑞拉人生活在哥伦比亚，使其成为最大的委内瑞拉侨民。