In the last two fiscal years, The United States has recorded at least 273,000 encounters or arrests of Colombians trying to enter the country, the vast majority through the southern border.. Although it is presumed that a large majority of them requested asylum upon arrival to avoid automatic deportation, The truth is that the United States has been conceding very few.
According to the criteria of
In 2023, for example, it was only granted to about 960 people, out of 5,000 that were prosecuted, while so far in 2024 (the most updated figures from the Department of Justice are from January of this year) 235 of about 2,000 cases processed.
In other words, if you look at the average, The United States grants between 10 and 20 percent of all applications it processes.
In other words, if you look at the average, the United States grants between 10 and 20 percent of all applications it processes
That does not mean, however, that the rest have already left the country. A high percentage of people detained monthly, close to 20 percent, have been expressly deported for not even qualifying with the minimum standards required for an asylum application.
And to that are added those who are deported once legal avenues are exhausted or are detained in the country while illegally. According to official figures, the US has been deporting about 5,000 Colombians every month. That is, about 60,000 a year.
In any case, that figure is less than half of those who arrive. If you take into account that they only grant about 5,000 asylums a year, that means that the rest are still either in a detention center or waiting for their case to be resolved. Many also abandon legal avenues and choose to remain illegally.
Southern border of the United States
Photo:EFE/Luis Torres
It is estimated, and this figure is not fully confirmed, that at least half a million Colombians are either living illegally or are still waiting for their asylum request to be resolved.
On the other hand, and according to the latest figures from the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CPB), last May there were 11,464 cases of Colombians detained at the border. A figure similar to that of April, when arrests totaled 11,629, and which leaves the accumulated total for the year at 106,796.
SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
US CORRESPONDENT
TIME
