In the middle of the crisis facing Necoclí due to the growing number of dammed migrants who seek to cross the darien plug, the United States ambassador In colombia, Francis Palmieri, visited the place to get a closer look at the conditions in which they are found near 9,000 people, mostly from Venezuelaaccording to the National Immigration Service of Panama.
During the meeting, Palmieri made it clear to the migrants that the border of the North American country is currently closed and denied the alleged border reopening within 20 to 90 days. And it is that, apparently, people are returning to their places of origin following The United States will announce that it will allow the legal entry of 24,000 Venezuelans and expel those who enter illegally to Mexico.
“To those who are on the move, I want to say clearly that they stay where they are, that they do not enter Mexico, that do not try to cross our border with Mexico or they will not be eligible for this legal process that has many benefitss,” explained the acting Undersecretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Blas Nuñez-Neto.
In addition, the representative in Colombia of the Government of the United States spoke regarding the needs that migrants face so far in this area.
“The flow of people represents a cost in the city’s infrastructure, in health services and also in basic food insecurity. The mayor told us in a very clear way what they need and it is helping the health system is to improve the possibility of drinking water,” he added.
On this visit, the diplomat was accompanied by local authorities, Migration Colombia and the Ombudsman’s Office.
“We met with the Ambassador and the authorities and made a call to guarantee the protection of unaccompanied children and adolescents who make this transitand we reiterate the need to implement a comprehensive immigration policy defined in Law 2136 of 2021 ”, reported the Ombudsman through its social networks.
According to data from the Ombudsman, last year 134,000 people crossed the Darién; in this 2022, still missing two months to finish, 150,000 people have passed through the jungle.