Brazil has opened multiple borders with Venezuela after a year and restricts the entry of 50 people per day

The Brazilian government issued Decree No. 633 on the 23rd, announcing the reopening of the border with Venezuela. It was the first time the border had been reopened since the entry gates were closed in March last year, but only 50 people were allowed into Brazil every day.

According to the Brazilian "São Paulo Page" and G1 website, during the new crown virus pandemic, the Brazilian federal government closed its border with Venezuela. The government explained that the border was blocked for health reasons and the aim was to contain the spread of the coronavirus. However, the measure was condemned by some lawyers and human rights organizations. These groups believe that borders should continue to be opened and that outbreak control measures such as testing or isolation should be taken, given the vulnerability of asylum seekers.

According to the latest decree, these "vulnerable groups due to the migration flows created by the humanitarian crisis" will now be able to receive and regularize migrant services in Brazil and receive emergency assistance.

The new decree also applies to outsiders who enter Brazil through secret passages from March 18 to the time of border closures. So far, this group of migrants has been in an irregular state, unable to apply for asylum from the government and potentially deported at any time. Overall, this situation violates Brazilian immigration regulations and international refugee treaties.

When the armed forces "Operação Acolhida" (Operação Acolhida) held an online meeting on the 24th at the border between Brazil and Venezuela to support humanitarian work, the military revealed that only 50 people were allowed to enter the country every day after the border was opened. Asked if the restriction might cause people to line up long at the border line, they replied that "this is not under our control."

At least 300 people enter and leave the country every day at the border between the city of Pacaraima in the Brazilian state of Roraima and the city of Santa Elena in Venezuela before the outbreak. João Chaves, Immigration and Refugee Coordinator at the Federal Public Defender's Office in São Paulo, said: "In Roraima, it is difficult to meet the needs of all migrants .[ A quota of 50 people per day is not enough. ”

General Antonio Manoel de Barros, coordinator of Operação Acolhida, noted that the relaxation of entry restrictions for foreigners should help the process of regularizing and localizing the resettlement of these people in other states.

"If we can't promote the regularization of Venezuelan migrants, we can't indigenize them," he said. Retrospective formalization in accordance with existing policies (for migrants already entering Brazil) would facilitate the process to take a coordinated and organized form. In the process, we will be able to advance formalization, preserve the dignity of immigrant groups and promote indigenization. ”

(Editor: Nanmu)