The consequences of US and Mexican immigration policies on the protection of Venezuelan women and LGBTIQ+ individuals in Southwest Mexico

This monitoring report assesses the main political and legal challenges that hinder the ability of Venezuelan girls, women and LGBTIQ+ individuals on the move in the Southwest of Mexico from accessing international protection, asylum, or regularized status in Mexico or the US. The report focuses on how these populations were impacted by the latest regional migration policies: Mexico’s visa requirements for Venezuelans instituted in January 2022; the US ‘s government expansion, in cooperation with the the Mexican government, of Title 42, which leads to the expulsion to Mexico of most Venezuelans who cross the US-Mexico border; the humanitarian parole program announced by the US in October; the closure of the Panama border for Venezuelans traveling from Costa Rica; and the Costa Rican government’s announcement about closing its border with Panama. To achieve this, Apoyo a Migrantes Venezolanos, the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI), Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), and the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) carried out fieldwork in Tapachula, Chiapas, and San Pedro Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, between November 7th and 11th, 2022.