Saturday, August 29, 2026 - Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, is facing mounting criticism after announcing a deportation campaign targeting undocumented migrants.
The government has ordered police operations to begin this week, with the policy expected to affect Venezuelans most heavily. Colombia is home to about 2.8 million Venezuelans, while an estimated 500,000 people lack legal permission to remain, according to figures cited by migration authorities.
The announcement has triggered strong opposition from migrant communities and political opponents, who accuse the new administration of promoting xenophobia and abandoning Colombia’s previous approach of providing legal pathways for Venezuelans fleeing hardship.
De la Espriella says the campaign will initially target people accused of crimes before turning to migrants whose immigration status has not been regularised. Critics, however, warn that mass deportations could punish vulnerable people without addressing the criminal networks and security problems the government says it wants to tackle.
The pressure on de la Espriella is growing just weeks into his presidency, making the deportation plan an early test of his government’s approach to security, migration and human rights. With hundreds of thousands potentially affected, how the campaign is enforced will matter as much as the policy itself.
Colombia now faces an urgent choice: pursue tougher immigration controls while protecting due process, or risk turning a security campaign into a wider humanitarian and political crisis.
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