Immigrating to the United States in the new era of Donald Trump: what awaits Colombians and Latinos?

After Donald Trump’s victory in the United States elections, there is uncertainty about what will happen to Colombian and Latin migrants in the North American country, since the former president has been emphatic that ending irregular immigration will be a priority in his government.

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Furthermore, according to experts consulted by Noticias Caracol, there is a possibility that the policies for people seeking to migrate will become stricter, not only in the border area but also in the procedures that must be carried out from the countries of origin.

Trump added 277 electoral votes compared to 224 for his rival, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, according to provisional results from local media. He needed 270 votes to win.

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During the campaign, the Republican assured that will expel migrants in an irregular situation because, according to him, they “poison the blood” of the country.

“These are not civilians. (…) These are people who are not legally in our country. “This is an invasion,” Trump said in an interview with Time magazine last April.

He promised to reconquer the cities “taken over by migrants,” and seal the border with Mexico to ensure that no more enter without visas. This Wednesday, after his victory, he stated that foreigners will be able to come, but legally.

In addition, he has mentioned that he will ask “to establish the death penalty for migrants who murder Americans.”

It should be noted that, during his first term, between 2017 and 2021, Trump tried to restrict refugee resettlement and temporarily banned travel from seven countries Muslim majority.

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Experts speak

Ulf Thoene, professor at the Department of Negotiation and International Trade at the International School of Economics and Administrative Sciences of the University of La Sabana, indicated that Trump’s victory “implies a toughening of immigration policies in Latin America.”

He added that “the immigration management of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in recent years was seen as permissive and motivated support for Trump.”

Therefore, “new diplomatic agreements will be needed between several Latin American countries and the United States to manage the migratory flow and the repercussions of those policies”.

For his part, Manuel Camilo González, professor of International Relations at the Javeriana University, indicated for Noticias Caracol that “a much closer collaboration is expected between the state authorities on the border with Mexico with the federal level of the United States.”

However, It is likely that it will also try to curb migration in “the countries of origin.”

“You can even try to alleviate the economic situations of the countries from where migrants receive the most to stop the phenomenon,” he said.

‘Green Card’ for migrant graduates of US universities

Despite its proposals against irregular migration, ‘CNN’ reported last June that Trump proposed “automatically” granting green cards to foreigners who graduate from an American university.

“What I want to do, and what I will do, is that, if you graduate from a university, I believe that you should automatically obtain, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to remain in this country,” the Republican said in ‘The All-In Podcast’ podcast.

According to ‘Bloomberg’, the Latino migrant population has been growing exponentially in recent years in the United States. It is estimated that for this year’s presidential elections 36 million Latinos were eligible to vote.

Trump told Time magazine that his mass deportation plans would target between 15 million and 20 million people who, according to him, remain undocumented in the United States. However, according to ‘CNN’, it is possible that that number is smaller.