Adios, Colombia

Based on a short article I found outlining Spain's new policies in regards to Colombian immigrants, I went on a quest to find out why exactly emmigration from Colombia has become such a noticable issue for the rest of the world. In 1993, there were only about 7,000 Colombians living in Spain, but the number grew to 80,000 in 2002 and peaking so far at 244,00o Colombians a year later. Why are so many Colombians leaving, and why are they deliberately avoiding travel to the United States?

Life for Colombian citizens has not been comfortable. Due to political problems that plauge the entire country, violence escalates, making the country far from safe as citizens are made into targets. With international human rights laws being frequently violated, there have been mass killings and strange kidnappings and disappearances of citizens for years. With a growing problem with internal displacement (due to the violence from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), Columbians sought a better life elsewhere, while at the same time there has been very little immigration to Colombia.

Quite simply, it is getting harder for immigrants to gain legal entry into the United States; it is harder for them to obtain work visas and there are significant dangers associated with illegal entry into the country. Spain, on the other hand, yields a simpler means of getting into the country (it is as simple as flying in as a visitor) and there is less of a language barrier. Even more, with the recent large inflows of Colombians (and other Latin Americans), Spain's economy has been developing.

Additional information can be found here and here.