An Imperfect but Constructive Approach: Examining the Latin American and Caribbean Response to Venezuelan Displacement

In a region that has little experience with large-scale immigration or displacement crises, governments in Latin America and the Caribbean quickly adapted their institutions and policies, often in an ad-hoc fashion, to address the displacement of millions of Venezuelans beginning in 2015. Among the policies in their toolkit: Highly pragmatic measures to provide legal status and access to the labor market, basic education, and emergency health care for the new arrivals.

However, as the displacement continues and receiving countries plan for a future where most Venezuelans will probably never return to Venezuela, policy questions remain surrounding the longer-term integration of these migrants, and how to institutionalize and systematize sometimes improvised and emergency policies. And access to legal status, labor markets, education, and services has also been uneven and not equally accessible to all across the region or even within the same country.

Join this webinar, which will launch a report examining how the 15 principal host countries in the region have provided protection and access to services for Venezuelan migrants. Speakers will also explore what steps the region’s governments can take to consolidate, adjust, and deepen existing efforts to help displaced Venezuelans integrate fully into their new countries and communities in ways that provide equitable access to livelihoods and public services.