Colombian president orders raids, vows to deport migrants without legal status
Colombia will begin immigration raids this week to deport migrants who have no legal residence permits, President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Sunday, marking a sharp policy shift after years of welcoming Venezuelan…
Source: Associated Press · August 26, 2026 at 2:30 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceCOLOMBIA, BOGOTA, 26 AUGUST 2026 —
Colombia will begin immigration raids this week to deport migrants who have no legal residence permits, President Abelardo de la Espriella said on Sunday, marking a sharp policy shift after years of welcoming Venezuelan arrivals.
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De la Espriella, sworn in three weeks ago, said the national immigration service would coordinate with police to target migrants “committing crimes,” followed by those without regular status. “They will have to leave and be deported,” he said in a video posted on X. “It is a political decision I am taking responsibility for.”
About 2.8 million Venezuelans live in Colombia, the UN estimates, making it the largest Venezuelan diaspora outside Venezuela. In July, Migracion Colombia said it had granted temporary residence permits to 2.3 million Venezuelans under a 2021 scheme launched by former President Ivan Duque during Venezuela’s peak migration crisis.
De la Espriella’s pledge to deport those without permits reverses Colombia’s long-standing approach, which had prioritised protecting incoming Venezuelans and offering pathways to permanent residency. Ana Karina García, director of Juntos Se Puede, which supports Venezuelan migrants, said the new government should expand legal routes instead of punishing people who cannot secure permits.
“We understand the president wants to protect Colombians,” García said. “But there is no need to protect them from migrants. It has been proven that foreigners do not commit crimes at greater rates than the local population.”
Arles Pereda, who leads a Venezuelan association in Bogota, said the announcement worried him because new groups of Venezuelans displaced by twin earthquakes in June have been arriving. “The doors seem to be closing,” he said. “Not just in Colombia, but also in Chile, Peru and Ecuador,” where conservative leaders have tightened residency rules for Venezuelans.
Migracion Colombia said in a text message that the agency currently has no director and will implement the new policies only after a successor is appointed.
Related: Migracion Colombia · Abelardo de la Espriella