Erika Wisby Seeks to Create Migration Policy Framework for Venezuelans in Peru
Thanks to a grant from the Georgetown Americas Institute, Wisby spent a week in Peru completing research for her Capstone project, which focuses on migration policy and reframing migration as an economic opportunity to be taken advantage of rather than a security challenge to be solved.
Wisby's project aims to propose a new migration policy framework for Venezuelan migrants in Peru based on Operation Welcome in Brazil and the Local Integration Program in Mexico which regularize and relocate migrants according to labor needs.
While in Lima, Rachel and her team met with representatives from a variety of NGOs that work with Venezuelan migrants, fostering integration, connecting them with social services, and providing legal counsel. They also had a meeting with a contact at the Superintendencia de Migraciones, who expressed keen interest in the project and agreed to work closely throughout the development of the policy framework.
For the last two days, we travelled to Tacna, the region that borders Chile, to observe migration conditions there. Again, they met with many NGOs that aid migrants as soon as they enter Peru. They also had the opportunity to tour the border control of Santa Rosa, which is a 40 minute drive south of the town of Tacna. From this, they got an inside look into how migrants are processed and how they are able to enter irregularly, despite a strong military presence at the border.
Because of this trip, they not only have a much deeper understanding of the way Venezuelan migration operates in the Peruvian context, but have also had the opportunity to build and strengthen connections with local NGOs as well as the Peruvian government.