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The Biden administration's decision represents a major policy shift from the Trump team, which withstood bipartisan calls to grant the protections to Venezuelans fleeing life-threatening crises.
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Colombia's president has unveiled a program to let undocumented Venezuelan migrants live and work legally in the country for up to 10 years. Nearly a million Venezuelans in Colombia lack legal status.
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The move will allow migrants to work legally in Colombia, obtain 10-year residence permits and access social services including healthcare and COVID-19 vaccines.
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Human rights activists have reported a sharp increase in sexual assaults and human trafficking involving Venezuelan women and girls trying to reach Colombia since the border closed amid the pandemic.
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About 2 million Venezuelans have settled in Colombia in recent years amid their country's deep economic crisis. Some of the migrants are shocked by their neighbors' anti-Venezuelan attitudes.
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Nicolás Maduro has remained in control despite international pressure and attempts to remove him, while opposition leaders weaken.
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Colombian officials say 12,000 Venezuelans have taken buses back to their home country since Colombia imposed restrictions to stop the coronavirus outbreak. Many other Venezuelans are fleeing on foot.
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Colombia is home to about 1.7 million who fled neighboring Venezuela in recent years. Now that it has shut down to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the migrants say they are extra vulnerable.
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The government is accused of letting Colombians linked with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia use its airspace to fly cocaine north through Central America to destinations in North America.