Migrants Seek Asylum in Ecuador

Venezuelans awaiting their turn at the Ecuadorian border control. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Ecuador hosts a population of refugees estimated at 250,000, the largest in Latin America. Most are Colombian, but because of the Venezuelan refugee crisis which began in 1999 but has been especially severe since 2015, the population of Venezuelan refugees in Ecuador is also on the rise. 

Historically, Ecuador has had extremely progressive, albeit inconsistent, laws regarding asylum seekers and human rights in general. In particular, the Human Mobility Law of 2017 updated the framework of their migration laws to regularize the status of immigrants, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and human trafficking victims, in addition to their families. 

However, the massive influx of Venezuelan immigrants fleeing the Bolivarian Revolution in such a short period of time has placed a massive strain on Ecuador’s institutional capacity. Ecuador’s usually positive reception of asylum seekers has transformed with more recent migration laws that are less welcoming. Not only has the country recently done a poor job of providing refugees with legal status and integrating them into the economy, but it alsoThe country imposed new entry requirements in late 2018 and early 2019 which effectively deny entry to many Venezuelan asylum seekers and have even separated families. With no other option, many have entered Ecuador illegally. However, the process of getting a job, providing education for one’s children, and obtaining healthcare are made doubly difficult without legal status. 

The changes in recent legislation and the spread of misinformation about refugees can be largely attributed to a rise in xenophobia and discrimination against foreigners, particularly in housing, schooling, and employment. Up to 40 percent of Colombian refugees in Quito who should be in high school have been denied schooling because of documentation barriers. More generally, migrants report high levels of discrimination, with 62 percent of Colombian refugees and 48 percent of Venezuelan refugees reporting experiencing discrimination since arriving in Ecuador. Another major issue is the lack of legal protection afforded to refugees in a country where two-thirds of Colombian refugees would not trust state authorities if they were the victims of a violent crime. This does not even take into account the asylum seekers entering the country illegally, who would not be able to report a crime even if they wanted to. The discrimination is based not only on country, but also on race, as Afro-Colombian migrants report much higher levels of discrimination than those who are mixed race. . 

The asylum seekers who have found themselves victim to this mass Latin American displacement face an increasingly uncertain future. The exodus of Colombian migrants is being replaced by Venezuelan migrants, despite the fact that Colombians have not even integrated fully into the economy and culture of Ecuador yet. The fate of many of these asylum seekers will rest on the continuing patience of surrounding Latin American countries and their ability to resist xenophobic and nationalist sentiments.