Under pressure over border, Biden admin grants protection to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans

[stuck in the middle]

2. Here's an old article on the same topic.

This one is about my wife’s country.

The world can learn from Colombia as the Ukrainian refugee crisis grows

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/597184-the-world-can-learn-from-colombia-as-the-ukrainian-refugee-crisis-grows/

Although it is largely a coincidence of timing that Colombia’s president, Ivan Duque, will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to visit President Joe Biden, it is a propitious one, with the world watching the massive exodus of civilians from Ukraine seeking safe harbor.

Colombia has a lot to share with European countries as they begin to address the basic needs of refugees pouring over their borders and brace for the millions more likely to come, because Colombia has seen millions upon millions of desperate people fleeing the collapse of Venezuela since 2015. In fact, the vast majority of the 6 million Venezuelans forced out of their country found first refuge in Colombia, including the more than 2 million who have become part of Colombian society.

Rather than respond with nativism and overzealous border enforcement or buckle under the weight of such a large, displaced population, Colombia — across two quite different presidential administrations — rose to the challenge. And it did so without the outpouring of global support the refugee response in Europe will (and should) almost undoubtedly receive.

A critical component of the Colombian response is President Duque’s historic decision to provide 10-year legal status to nearly 1 million Venezuelans living in Colombia, providing stability and opportunity to an otherwise vulnerable population. It benefits not only the migrants but also the communities that have received them. Stabilized migrant populations are ones that can and do contribute more effectively to local economic growth, as has been seen time and again in Colombia, in the United States, and around the world.

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