22 million Americans displaced by poverty and conflict

At least 22 million people in the Americas have been forced to flee their homes due to poverty and conflict, complicating international humanitarian aid and exacerbating migration in the region.

According to a May 4 statement by Renee Cuijpers, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Mexico, this is the highest number of people leaving their homes in the Americas ever recorded. Of these, Venezuelans account for 30%, followed by Colombians, El Salvadorians and Hondurans.

Referring to Mexico, the UNHCR representative said that this country is among the top 5 countries receiving the most asylum applications in the world, with 273,000 cases in 2023, the highest since 2018, not to mention hundreds of thousands of people transiting this country to enter the US.

According to Mr Cuijpers, 42% of the asylum seekers were women, while 24% were children. This reflects a growing trend of asylum applications from families, as well as from vulnerable groups.

In support of refugees, during the period 2016-2023, UNHCR worked with 600 companies to support more than 35,000 refugees to enter the formal labor market and access basic services in education and health thanks to the Mexican Integration Program.

In addition, more than 3,000 refugee children were supported to go to school and 120 refugee students received scholarships at higher education institutions.