The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide will reach an unprecedented 130 million this year. Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for one third of the 2.6 million new individual asylum applications globally in 2023, according to the UNHCR. It also hosts 22.1 million forcibly displaced people, 25% of whom are children.

To better understand the situation, CJI interviewed Lizbeth Gramajo Bauer, coordinator of the Jesuit Migration Network (Red Jesuita con Migrantes or RJM-CANA) in Latin America and the Caribbean.

International institutions such as the UN have stated that the world is in the grips of an unprecedented migration crisis. What does the situation look like in Latin America?

Mobility restrictions and border closures during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced migration flows. But in the post-pandemic period, migration has increased. People who postponed their departure or became stranded in other countries are on the move. We have seen an increase in migratory flows especially from South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, as well as "extra-continental migrants" (migrants from Africa and Asia transiting through Latin America) seeking to reach the United States in pursuit of the "American dream.”

What are the main causes of these increased migrations?

The structural causes include high rates of poverty, violence, and social inequality in Latin America. The socio-political crises in the region – in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti, and Ecuador, among others – are fueling new migrations in the region. The impact of environmental and climatic events, as well as environmental degradation, are also causing internal and international displacement in some countries in the region.

How is your organization responding to the migration crisis?

The Jesuit Migration Network is an expression of the work of the Society of Jesus, which promotes work with migrants, displaced persons, refugees, and their families, as well as with other agents of change. The network seeks to respond comprehensively to this reality. It provides socio-pastoral accompaniment, which involves direct attention (humanitarian, legal, pastoral, psychosocial) to migrants, refugees, displaced persons, and their families. It conducts investigative research and analysis that allow a better understanding of the reality of migration and the search for alternatives. It advocates for defending the rights of migrants, addressing the structural causes of forced migration, raising awareness of policies that make migrants more vulnerable, and contributing to reconciliation, justice, and a culture of hospitality.

Why should people care about this issue?

Migration is an historical and global reality. There are concrete actions and fundamental values that we can promote. Hospitality is a call to welcome migrants and displaced persons warmly. It is a fundamental characteristic of a truly humane society and is a value that needs to be upheld by policies and legal systems. Hospitality is the Christian expression of welcoming the other. We seek full inclusion, which is a structural dynamic that integrates people into a society in the fullness of their rights, without distinction of ethnic origin, cultural, religious, or economic condition.

What is the impact of support from organizations such as Canadian Jesuits International? Why is it important?

CJI's support helps the network to continue to fulfill its mission as part of the Society of Jesus' commitment to the most vulnerable migrants, displaced persons, refugees, and their families in the region.