Venezuelans living in Colombia who were waiting to be accepted into the Safe Mobility program, organized by UNHCR and IOM, received an unexpected and discouraging message: the program has been canceled.
What was the Safe Mobility program?
This international cooperation program was designed to review the cases of about 150,000 people, mainly Venezuelan migrants, and determine if they met the requirements to be regular migrants in the United States. The idea was to facilitate their relocation without the need for a risky irregular journey to the U.S. border.
The official notice of closure
The message sent to the migrants said:
“Following a decision by the U.S. government, the Safe Mobility Initiative is no longer active. Therefore, UNHCR and IOM cannot process your case for resettlement or provide information on other ways to enter the United States, which are no longer available.”
Instead, they were asked to continue working on their social integration in Colombia.
Stranded migrants in irregular situations
This left thousands of people trapped in limbo, especially those who were waiting for their processes to be completed or their documents to be reviewed. Migrants from countries like Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Guatemala found themselves in a difficult situation as their processes were suspended, putting them at risk of falling into irregular migration status.
The closure of the program and its context
The Safe Mobility program had been facing problems since last year, and while there were speculations about its possible closure, the official confirmation came just after Donald Trump arrived at the White House. Lina Arroyave, a researcher at Dejusticia, detailed that people began receiving notifications as early as November, warning that the program would come to an end. Although it was suspected that this would happen, the news became official when the new Republican administration deactivated the program.
The history of protection-based relocation programs
Protection-based relocation programs have existed for decades. These programs are intended to assist people who have had to flee their countries due to threats to their lives and integrity. Many of the applicants met the requirements to obtain refugee status and, therefore, were eligible to be relocated to countries such as the United States.
The importance of Safe Mobility for migrants
The unique aspect of the Safe Mobility program was that it allowed migrants to request protection from the country where they already resided, without the need to reach the U.S. border. Applicants only had to submit the documents that supported their request. In Colombia, UNHCR and IOM had offices in Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín to facilitate these procedures.
The impact of the closure on applicants
Of the 150,000 applications that had been registered by May 2024, most corresponded to Venezuelan migrants living in Colombia, although there were also cases of Haitians waiting to benefit from the program. With the program’s closure, these applications were suspended, and migrants now face an uncertain future.
The political context behind the closure
This closure comes at a critical moment, as President Trump was signing new decrees to adjust U.S. immigration laws. Additionally, the Republican government froze development aid funds that USAID was sending to various countries.
This set of political decisions left thousands of migrants with no clear options for their future in the United States.
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