[News] Biden-Petro meeting: in front of the White House, Colombians will ask for migratory relief

[Draeno]

The Colombia Out of Colombia Campaign and other civil society organizations in Washington ask US President Joe Biden to approve immigration relief, also known as the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program, for more than 200,000 undocumented Colombians, taking advantage of President Gustavo Petro's visit to the North American country. With a view to the meeting that the two heads of state will hold in a few hours, these initiatives are calling for a meeting in front of the White House, in Lafayette Square Park, between 1:30 p.m. m. and 2:30 p.m. m. from today.

"As a result of more than 60 years of armed conflict, hundreds of thousands of Colombian citizens have been forced to leave the country and live irregularly as undocumented immigrants in the United States," read the statement issued by Colombia outside of Colombia. "The migratory relief would give the current Colombian government the necessary time to implement the peace agreements, accompanied by social justice policies, especially for the Afro-Colombian, indigenous and peasant communities, which have been the most affected by the armed conflict," he concludes. the text.

Colombia's attempts to achieve immigration benefits in the United States
Last November, the Government of Colombia, through its embassy in Washington, formally asked the United States to "consider authorizing a temporary immigration benefit" for Colombians in that country. In fact, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, received a letter asking the Biden administration to include Colombians in the DED, which seeks that compatriots are not returned upon arrival in the United States. This, given that the program, from which countries such as Venezuela (whose term expired in July 2022) or Liberia have benefited, allows migrants from countries with conflicts or natural disasters to remain in the North American country.

One of the benefits of being in it, to which for now only Liberia and Hong Kong belong, is obtaining a work permit for a short period of time, which can help to regularize the situation of thousands of Colombians who do not have their immigration status. defined. "Our goal is that our people can return to Colombia in a dignified manner, if they wish, or adjust their immigration status in the United States, if they have the legal means to do so," reads the letter from the Petro government to Casa Blanca, which was signed by the Colombian ambassador to the United States, Luis Gilberto Murillo.

Now, the picture is not simple. Murillo himself has said: “We have different perspectives, but we are going to work to advance each of your issues (…). It's a good time for discussion." For his part, Brian Nichols, US Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, added in an interview with NTN24: “There are several factors under consideration. I think the situation in Colombia is good, in terms of security, compared to previous years. As for political stability (...), things are going well in Colombia (...), we have always studied that. For me, when things are going so well, it's hard to justify such a move."

In the midst of it, civil society has pressed. For example, last February, the NGO Semillas Colombia, in the middle of an event in Broward County, north of Miami, held a day in favor of the DED. Its director, Juan Carlos Naranjo, told EFE that the group launched a campaign that includes lobbying US congressmen to achieve a program that benefits Colombian asylum seekers, as it has done with Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians. among other citizens. Regarding the program, he added that it is a viable mechanism, since it is contemplated within the executive powers of the president. He explained that some 7,000 Colombians are undocumented in Miami-Dade County, among the nearly 200,000 in the country.

 

https://www.elespectador.com/mundo/america/reunion-biden-petro-frente-a-la-casa-blanca-colombianos-pediran-alivio-migratorio-noticias-de-hoy/