Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered immigration raids and mass deportations of undocumented migrants, marking a dramatic shift in the country’s approach to the estimated 2.8 million Venezuelans living within its borders.
The ultra-conservative leader, who was sworn into office just three weeks ago, announced the crackdown during a security council meeting in Barranquilla on Sunday night. In a video posted to his X account, de la Espriella declared that law enforcement would first target foreigners “committing crimes” and then move against those living in the country without regular immigration status.
“I will not accept any illegal immigrants, wherever they come from,” de la Espriella said. “They will have to leave and be deported. It is a political decision I am taking responsibility for.” The raids are set to begin in Barranquilla, Colombia’s fourth-largest city and a major port on the Caribbean coast, with operations expanding to other cities in the coming weeks.
The announcement represents a stark reversal from the policies of de la Espriella’s predecessor, Gustavo Petro, whose government had pursued a more lenient approach to immigration. Under Petro, Colombia granted temporary residence permits to about 2.3 million Venezuelans through a scheme originally rolled out in 2021 by former President Ivan Duque. Between August 2022 and June 2026, Migration Colombia documented just 3,389 deportations and 2,576 expulsions, a total of 5,965 people over nearly four years.
Scale of the Venezuelan Diaspora
Colombia became one of the primary destinations for Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse, with an estimated 2.8 million now living in the country, according to United Nations figures. Many arrived during the peak of Venezuela’s immigration crisis, which saw roughly a fifth of the population leave over the past decade as the country endured hyperinflation, food shortages, and political repression under the Maduro regime.
The new deportation orders have raised alarm among migrant advocacy groups. Ana Karina Garcia, director of Juntos Se Puede, an organization that assists Venezuelan migrants, urged the incoming administration to expand pathways to legal residency instead of punishing people who cannot obtain permits. “We understand that the president wants to protect Colombians,” Garcia said. “But there is no need to protect them from migrants. It has been proven that foreigners do not commit crimes at greater rates than the local population.”
Arles Pereda, president of an association representing Venezuelans in Bogota, expressed concern that new groups of Venezuelans displaced by twin earthquakes that struck the country in June have been arriving in Colombia. He warned that crackdowns are not limited to Colombia, noting that Chile, Peru, and Ecuador have also made it harder for Venezuelan migrants to obtain residency permits under their own conservative governments. The tightening of immigration policies across the region could leave hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in legal limbo.
Operational Challenges
The practical implementation of the deportation order presents significant logistical hurdles. An operation of this scale requires identifying individuals, verifying their identity and legal status, determining criminal records or pending proceedings, and applying the appropriate administrative mechanisms. Irregular immigration status does not in itself constitute a crime under Colombian law, which limits the legal basis for mass enforcement actions against people who have committed no offense beyond overstaying visas or failing to register.
Colombia’s national immigration department, Migracion Colombia, is currently without a director. The agency said it would only implement the new policies once a new director is appointed and installed, creating uncertainty about the timeline and scope of the planned operations. Without clear enforcement protocols or a deportation target, the announcement has been criticized by opposition politicians as more symbolic than operational, designed to project toughness rather than achieve concrete results.
Former Senator Maria Fernanda Cabal, a prominent right-wing figure close to the new government, analyzed the potential consequences in local magazine Semana. Her comments reflected support from a political sector that has long advocated for stricter immigration controls and tougher security measures. The deportation policy is part of a broader security offensive that includes a rewards program in Barranquilla, strengthening civilian informant networks, and measures to prevent prisons from being used as operational centers for extortion and drug trafficking by criminal organizations.
Political Context and Regional Trends
De la Espriella’s approach mirrors immigration policies being adopted by right-leaning governments across Latin America. The new Colombian leader has positioned himself as closely aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump, and his security agenda emphasizes tough enforcement against both criminal organizations and undocumented migrants. The policy also follows months of tension between the previous Petro government and Washington over deportation flights, with Trump having imposed tariffs on Colombian goods in January 2025 after Petro refused to accept U.S. military aircraft carrying deported Colombians.
The deportation order has broader implications for regional migration patterns. Venezuela’s ongoing economic crisis continues to push people across borders, and a crackdown in Colombia could send migrants to other countries already struggling to absorb them. Human rights organizations have warned that indiscriminate raids risk targeting people who have legal status or are in the process of regularizing their stay, creating a climate of fear among vulnerable communities who may avoid seeking medical care or reporting crimes.
For now, the president has made his intention clear: operations will begin this week in Barranquilla. The actual scope will depend on how migration authorities and police translate the presidential order into concrete actions and how far the government is willing to take its new enforcement policy in the face of growing international scrutiny and domestic opposition from civil society groups and left-leaning political parties who have vowed to challenge the measures in court.
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