Colombia Orders Deportation Raids Targeting Undocumented Venezuelan Migrants

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced on the night of August 23 a series of immigration raids to identify and deport migrants without legal status, starting in Barranquilla and expanding nationwide, in a major reversal of Colombia's prior open-door posture toward Venezuelans. Roughly 90% of migrants in Colombia are Venezuelan, and of the country's approximately 2.8 million Venezuelan residents, UN data cited in coverage put the undocumented population at over 527,000 — many of whom had previously received protection under a 2021 temporary protected status program covering roughly 2.3 million undocumented Venezuelans. De la Espriella said police and immigration authorities would first target foreign nationals accused of crimes, then those who have not regularized their status: "I will not accept any illegal immigrants, no matter where they come from." Colombia hosts the largest Venezuelan diaspora population of any country.