Voice of America
28 Jan 2023, 16:05 GMT+10
BRASÍLIA, BRAZIL - The number of people making a perilous journey on foot through the Darien Gap jungle to reach the United States has dropped significantly since the U.S. government tightened its rules on migrants, the International Organization for Migration said.
Earlier this month Washington expanded COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions to include migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua and not just Venezuelans as people who can be expelled back to Mexico if caught crossing the border into the United States. The restrictions are known as Title 42.
IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said the measure was discouraging people from heading north.
'There was a drop in the numbers of people that cross the Darien in the first three weeks of January with the new rules for Title 42 adopted by the U.S. administration,' he told Reuters on Friday.
Vitorino said 133,000 people made the Darien crossing in 2021, the same number as in the entire previous 10 years, and the crossings almost doubled to 250,000 last year, mostly Venezuelan migrants but also Haitians.
The migrants have suffered murders and rape and been subjected to extortion and prostitution by armed gangs crossing through dense jungle between Colombia and Panama, he said.
They arrive in Panama extremely dehydrated and in terrible medical condition, especially the women and children, he added.
Vitorino also noted what he called a 'serious humanitarian crisis' at the U.S.-Mexico border with the high number of migrants barred from entering the United States or expelled back to Mexico.
'Most of the 75 shelters IOM supports at the border are overcrowded. People need everything: shelter, food, water, warm clothes,' he said.
According to the IOM, 6 million Venezuelans have left their country, mostly migrating to Latin American neighbors Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. Others set off on the uncertain journey north to try to get into the United States.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday that the number of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border dropped dramatically from December to January following the new rules.
The Biden administration expanded the Title 42 program as it sought to cope with record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border, at the same time expanding legal pathways to enter the United States.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in December that the policy should stay in place as it considers a legal challenge to the policy. Vitorino said the IOM is waiting for the Supreme Court to clarify its position on the new rules.
Under the new rules, up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela may enter the United States per month with a two-year temporary humanitarian parole.
Get a daily dose of Canada Standard news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Canada Standard.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - The U.S. was alone on Friday in a 13-1 vote for a ceasefire in the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Associated Press (AP) reported that Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to ...
MADISON, Wisconsin: On November 30, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury from Wisconsin pleaded guilty to firebombing a conservative anti-abortion group's office on ...
An Israeli tank crew killed a Reuters journalist and wounded six reporters in Lebanon on Oct. 13 by firing two ...
WASHINGTON DC - In a major blow to U.S. President Joe Biden, less that a year out from the November ...
TOKYO, Japan: This week, the U.S. Air Force said that divers have discovered the wreckage and the remains of five ...
(Photo credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports) The Buffalo Bills are making their fifth visit to Kansas City in 34-plus months ...
(Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports) The Buffalo Sabres hope to pick up where they left off Thursday when they ...
(Photo credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports) The struggles of November appear to be firmly in the past for the New ...
(Photo credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports) The New York Islanders acquired veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues ...
(Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports) Aston Villa will try to build on their biggest win of the season and ...
(Photo credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports) Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert is off the injury report and ready to ...