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United States: Update to USA39103.E of 25 June 2002 on recent trends in Colombian asylum claims in the United States; reports as to why Colombians may choose not to claim asylum in the United States; information on the Colombian community in South Florida, including situation of Colombians living there; any reports of discrimination (June 2002-April 2005)

Colombian Immigration Trends

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) stated in its 2004 report that with 3,800 asylum seekers (a total of 19,400 persons), Colombia was the second source country of refugee claimants to the United States in 2003 (n.d.b)

Sources indicated that the United States continued to deny Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Colombians (HIAS Aug. 2004), even though the government of Colombia and several human rights groups have urged the United States government to grant it (USCRI n.d.a). The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) also felt that TPS should be granted to Colombians in the United States (USCCB 3 June 2003; HIAS Aug. 2004).

In a 1 April 2005 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the Director of the Colombian Studies Institute (CSI), who is also a professor of history and law at Florida International University (FIU), commented on the situation of Colombian asylum seekers in the United States since 2003. He said that Colombians in the United States are still not eligible for Temporary Protection Status (TPS) and it is very unlikely that this situation would change. The Director also said that Colombians who have a better or easier option for settling in the United States, such as a business visa or a work permit, will most likely forego applying for asylum. As well, the Director noted that many Colombians are keen to request asylum because they have anecdotal evidence to show that they have a possibility of acceptance.

However, according to the USCRI, the fact that the United States refused to grant TPS to Colombians and the perception that it was very difficult to win their asylum cases meant that many Colombians were reluctant to apply for refugee status in the United States in 2003 (USCRI n.d.b). Furthermore, the Broward Daily Business Review noted that many Colombians arriving in the United States complained that the government did "little or nothing to protect them" (13 Oct. 2004).

In August 2004, the New York-based Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) indicated that a large number of Colombians entered the United States on tourist visas and overstayed due to the situation in Colombia.

Statistics provided by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) of the United States Department of Justice suggest that, in 2002, the United States granted asylum to 1,019 out of 9,505 Colombian applicants (roughly 11 percent) (United States 20 Apr. 2004a). By 2003, this figure had increased to 1,589 out of 6,802 applications, or approximately 23 percent (ibid. 20 Apr. 2004b). On 8 February 2005, an EFE news article indicated that between 2000 and 2004, 13 percent of Colombian refugee claimants to the United States were granted asylum.

In Boston, United Trauma Relief (UTR), a student-based network centred at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that endeavours to combat global poverty, disease, and war (UTR n.d.a), has set up several programs with the help of local non-profit organizations to assist "local Colombian refugees in gaining amnesty and beginning a secure life within the United States" (ibid. n.d.b).

Colombian Community in South Florida

In July 2004, The Economist put the number of Colombians in Miami at 110,000 (15 July 2004).

The Director of the CSI said that, while he only had anecdotal evidence on the development of the Colombian community in South Florida due to a lack of concrete data, it appeared that the region was experiencing a large influx of Colombians (1 Apr. 2005). For example, Colombians have recently become more numerous at business fairs in the area, and the juvenile justice system has seen an increase in the number of Colombian youths in custody (Director of the CSI 1 Apr. 2005). The Director also cited the increasing number of Colombian professionals, including artists, in the area as a sign perhaps not only of better organization but also of a larger Colombian presence in southern Florida (ibid.). The Director added that he did not wish his comments to be used as a disincentive for acceptance of refugee claims (ibid.).

The Director of the CSI could not comment on whether or not discrimination was a common problem faced by members of South Florida's Colombian community (1 Apr. 2005), and no indications of discrimination could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, an article appearing in Hemisphere mentioned a survey conducted among a group of Colombian high school students in Florida, all of whom said they had encountered negative stereotypes centred on drugs about Colombians in their school (22 Sept. 2002).

Two sources reported on the return of Colombians from South Florida to their home country (Sun-Sentinel 7 Mar. 2005; Ledger-Enquirer 22 Dec. 2003). While the Sun-Sentinel spoke of many Colombians returning home temporarily for medical reasons because of their perception that Colombian medical treatment is cheaper and more humane than that in the United States (7 Mar. 2005), the Ledger-Enquirer reported a more generalized departure of South Floridian Colombians back to Colombia (22 Dec. 2003). The Ledger-Enquirer stated that it could not support this hypothesis with statistics, but suggested that according to anecdotal evidence, the number of Colombian returnees from southern Florida was increasing, the gap between the number of people entering Florida and those leaving having greatly narrowed between 2001 and 2002 (22 Dec. 2003). The newspaper also indicated that some Colombians who had returned to Colombia were discouraged by their inability to find suitable work, while others felt optimistic about future prospects in Colombia (Ledger-Enquirer 22 Dec. 2003). According to the same newspaper article, the president of the Colombian American Association in Washington, DC, cited strict migration controls following 11 September 2001, which made employment and driver's licences more difficult to obtain, as an additional deterrent for Colombians who want to stay in the United States (ibid.). Corroboration of assertions by the Ledger-Enquirer could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.

For a detailed historical overview of the evolution of the Colombian community in South Florida, please see Colombian Migration to South Florida: A Most Unwelcome Reception prepared in May 2004 by the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) of Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, and available at <http://lacc.fiu.edu/research_publications/working_papers/working_paper_09.pdf> .

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Broward Daily Business Review [Fort Lauderdale]. 13 October 2004. Dan Christensen. "Assurances Sought." (Dialog)

Director of Colombian Studies Institute (CSI) and Professor of History and Law. 1 April 2005. Florida International University (FIU). Telephone interview.

The Economist [London]. 15 July 2004. "Enter at Your Peril." <http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=2921846> [Accessed 1 Apr. 2005]

EFE Inglés. 8 February 2005. "US Asylum System Blasted as Arbitrary and Often Cruel." (Dialog)

Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). August 2004. "Protection for Colombian Refugees." <http://www.hias.org/News/Docs/ColombianRefugeeProtection_04.html> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]

Hemisphere [Miami]. 22 September 2002. Maria Alejandra Chaparro."'Little Colombia': Teen Immigrants Make New Lives in the US." (Dialog)

Ledger-Enquirer [Columbus, GA]. 22 December 2003. Frances Robles. "Many Colombians Returning Home." <http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/world/7546456.htm> [Accessed 1 Apr. 2005]

Sun-Sentinel [Fort Lauderdale]. 7 March 2005. Ruth Morris. "Colombians Returning Home for Health Care." (The Poor but Happy Colombia Guide.) <http://www.poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/8022> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]

United States (US). 20 April 2004a. United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). <http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/efoia/FY03AsyStats.pdf> [Accessed 1 Apr. 2005]
_____. 20 April 2004b. United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). <http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/efoia/FY02AsyStats.pdf> [Accessed 1 Apr. 2005]

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). n.d.a. World Refugee Survey 2004: Regional Summaries. Doug Ford. "The Americas and the Caribbean." <http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1163> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]
_____. n.d.b. "United States." World Refugee Survey: Country Reports. <http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?area=investigate&subm=19&ssm=29&cid=183> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). 3 June 2003. Office of Migration and Refugee Policy: Mission to Ecuador and Colombia. "Statement of Most Reverend Thomas Wenski, Auxiliary Bishop of Miami, Chairman, United States Conference of Catholic Bishop's Committee on Migration." <http://www.usccb.org/mrs/wenski060303.shtml> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]

United Trauma Relief (UTR). n.d.a. "About Us." <http://web.mit.edu/utr/www/about.html> [Accessed 1 Apr. 2005]
_____. n.d.b. "Colombia." <http://web.mit.edu/utr/www/refugee.html> [Accessed 31 Mar. 2005]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet Sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), BBC, CNN, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Freedom House, Human Rights Watch (HRW), The Miami Herald, Relief Web, World News Connection (WNC).