U.S. Halts Foreign Aid as Ecuador Faces Humanitarian and Migration Crisis
President Trump’s Executive Orders Halting Foreign Aid Affect Ecuador - Jeopardizing Asylum Support, Migrant Regularization, and Regional Stability
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Ecuadorian migrants, with their hands and feet handcuffed, line up to board a plane at the Albrook Gelabert airport in Panama City on August 29, 2024, during their deportation. (Martin Bernetti/AFP, licensed by Getty).
In December 2024, CEDA published a groundbreaking investigative report on violence, migration and displacement in Ecuador.
Following the publication of this report, on January 20th, President Trump assumed office and immediately issued a series of Executive Orders with profound implications for Ecuador and the broader region. Among them, the Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid Executive Order and a subsequent Stop Work Order for existing contracts and grants effectively halted all foreign assistance, including humanitarian and development aid. Alongside a series of restrictive immigration-related executive actions, these measures will fundamentally reshape the migration landscape in the Western Hemisphere, altering not only migration trends but also the structure of intergovernmental and regional cooperation on migration governance. Given these drastic changes, some of the recommendations put forward in this report are no longer feasible under the current U.S. policy and assistance framework.
The suspension of aid will have immediate implications for Ecuador:
Vulnerable populations—including internally displaced Ecuadorians and newly arrived Colombian asylum seekers—will be left without critical support.
Ecuador’s regularization initiatives for Venezuelans and other migrants are now at risk, jeopardizing efforts to provide stability for refugee and migrant populations.
The U.S. Safe Mobility Office and associated parole pathways for refugees and migrants across the region have been eliminated.
U.S. authorities have pledged to increase deportations, meaning many Ecuadorians currently in the U.S. without legal status are expected to be forcibly returned, placing further pressures on the country at a delicate time.
This changing landscape of migration governance further undermines the ability for refugees and migrants to find refuge, safety, and an opportunity to integrate. The suspension of foreign assistance negates efforts to address the underlying drivers of emigration and can lead to the intensification of an already complex regional migration crisis.
In the absence of US humanitarian engagement, CEDA exhorts other international and humanitarian partners to support Ecuador in its migration governance efforts at this critical time. CEDA will continue to monitor developments and advocate for responses that prioritize human rights and protection in this shifting landscape.