Key Considerations for Future Temporary Protection and Regularization Programs in Latin America
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Highlights
Drawing on 11 country case studies, MPI finds that more than 24 temporary protection programs in Latin America have helped millions but often do not lead to permanent status.
- Since 2015, Latin American countries have implemented more than 24 regularization programs that granted status to millions of Venezuelans, but most permits are temporary and lack clear paths to permanence.
- Programs based on executive decrees, rather than legislation, are vulnerable to political shifts, creating ongoing uncertainty for migrants and host communities.
- Costs, documentation hurdles, and weak integration planning leave many migrants in legal limbo or at risk of falling back into irregularity at renewal.
- Governments should anchor regularization in law, design programs with integration in mind, create off-ramps to permanent status, and improve migration data systems.
Migration has become an enduring reality in Latin America, reshaping societies and challenging traditional notions of borders and belonging. Faced with large-scale displacement from Venezuela over the past decade, countries across the region—many more used to emigration than immigration—have developed novel temporary protection and regularization programs. These have complemented or been offered instead of leveraging existing migration and asylum processes to manage arrivals.
The temporary and ad hoc measures that have proliferated have offered countries flexible tools to rapidly respond to migration pressures, but their temporariness has over time created uncertainty for migrants and receiving communities alike. As countries across the region begin to think through their second-generation policy approaches, it is vital for policymakers to understand the trade-offs between different design elements.
This report analyzes and compares different temporary protection and regularization initiatives, drawing examples from 11 countries/regions in and beyond Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, the European Union, Morocco, Peru, Spain, Turkey, and the United States). The report also offers recommendations for countries looking to move beyond temporary solutions to more durable, long-term policy frameworks, and in doing so, to avoid the pitfalls of partial immigrant integration and to more fully leverage migration’s potential benefits.
Para leer este reporte en español, haga clic aquí.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Regularization Landscape in Latin America
A. Timeline of Regularization Programs in the Region
B. Challenges Facing Regularization Programs
3 What Can Be Learned from Regularization Initiatives Around the World?
A. Legal Underpinnings: How Easily Are Permits Implemented and Sustained?
B. Design Considerations: Who Is Eligible and Who Is Left Out?
C. Duration and Renewals: Balancing Short- and Medium-Term Needs
D. Long-Term Prospects: Pathways to Permanence or Other Statuses
4 Looking Forward
A. Tailor Policy Mechanisms to Reflect the Diversity of Human Mobility
B. Anchor Regularization Measures in Legislation to Strengthen Policy Continuity
C. Assuage Public Anxieties by Promoting Consistency and Stability
Latin America and Caribbean Initiative
The Initiative combines rigorous research with direct engagement of governments, institutions, and stakeholders to help build orderly, rights-respecting migration systems across one of the world's most dynamic migration regions.
About the Global Program
The Global Program bridges policy advice, research, and candid dialogue to design effective migration policies, drawing on global evidence and anticipating the forces reshaping how people move.
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