Currently, Venezuela is facing overt social, economical, and political turmoil. As a result, the future of the country as well as the fate of its 30 million inhabitants is in jeopardy. Due to a nationwide shortage of necessities such as food, medicine, and medical supplies have left a starving populace that struggles to survive.
Because of the poor living conditions, many have chosen to flee to as economic refugees (particularly in regions bordering Venezuela); this has put a strain on other countries who are frustrated with having to take them in. Mexico feels that “the burden distribution is very uneven”. During a discussion, the Mexico representative called out Canada and USA, prompting them to take in more refugees. His reasoning was that they both had apple resources and space, and should therefore take on more responsibility.
Guatemala and Venezuela echoed these sentiments. Venezuela went on to call for “reform to visa programs, makeshift hospitals, and police forces to protect refugees”.
While the Bahamas agreed with Venezuela's points, they emphasized the need for better accessibility to visas.
Brazil further elaborated on this point. As of 2017, there are more than a million foreigners living illegally in Brazil. The Brazil representative called attention to the fact that because it is so hard to acquire work permits many of these people are unemployed.
Currently, to submit an asylum application, Venezuelans their situation must be stated before a federal police officer. Theoretically this sounds reasonable; however, there are not enough national police to process all of the requests. Additionally, the majority of officers cannot speak Portuguese or Spanish. To top all of that off, many of the new policies are infeasible because the majority of Venezuelans do not have access to the critical legal documents.
With the number of Venezuelan asylum applications soaring, many countries are seeking to improve their immigration policies.
Because of the poor living conditions, many have chosen to flee to as economic refugees (particularly in regions bordering Venezuela); this has put a strain on other countries who are frustrated with having to take them in. Mexico feels that “the burden distribution is very uneven”. During a discussion, the Mexico representative called out Canada and USA, prompting them to take in more refugees. His reasoning was that they both had apple resources and space, and should therefore take on more responsibility.
Guatemala and Venezuela echoed these sentiments. Venezuela went on to call for “reform to visa programs, makeshift hospitals, and police forces to protect refugees”.
While the Bahamas agreed with Venezuela's points, they emphasized the need for better accessibility to visas.
Brazil further elaborated on this point. As of 2017, there are more than a million foreigners living illegally in Brazil. The Brazil representative called attention to the fact that because it is so hard to acquire work permits many of these people are unemployed.
Currently, to submit an asylum application, Venezuelans their situation must be stated before a federal police officer. Theoretically this sounds reasonable; however, there are not enough national police to process all of the requests. Additionally, the majority of officers cannot speak Portuguese or Spanish. To top all of that off, many of the new policies are infeasible because the majority of Venezuelans do not have access to the critical legal documents.
With the number of Venezuelan asylum applications soaring, many countries are seeking to improve their immigration policies.