The 4,000 Afghans who were to arrive in the country would no longer set foot on Colombian territory

On August 20, it was known that about 4,000 Afghans would arrive in the country after an agreement between the United States and the Colombian government, according to the Wall Street Journal. This would be done temporarily “until their papers are processed,” since they are part of the group of Afghans who have worked with the United States in the Asian country.

These Afghans would be people with refugee visas or who have been selected for migrant visas and who would be appointed for these processes with the US government, the US newspaper said.

“Our immediate task now is to fulfill our commitments to continue the safe evacuation of our citizens., nationals of partner countries and Afghans at risk, especially those who have contributed to our efforts, ”said Ned Price, spokesperson for the State Department of the North American country at the time.

According to Blu Radio, who knew the news exclusively, this arrival of Afghan citizens in Colombia would no longer occur, since The United States has made the decision to take them to different military bases, temporarily while their stay in this country is legalized.

At the time, Migración Colombia offered a press conference to clarify some issues, including: the conformation of the mechanism; the length of time that Afghan citizens will be in Colombian territory; economic support from the United States and the maximum number of Afghans that Colombia will host.

“It is humanitarian aid, it means that, Colombia is not a final destination for these migrants. Consequently, Afghans will not have access to a work permit, but they will have free mobility in the territory, they will be able to attend their services and do various activities all temporarily ”, noted Juan Francisco Espinosa Palacios, Director of Migration. Colombia on August 32. .

As Colombia will not be their place of settlement, the director of migration clarified that it is important to take into account the fact that they are working on three factors in order to succeed in their transit and, For this, different entities are joining forces to make this possible: Migration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Health.

“It is important to consider three variants: temporality (So ​​far it has been determined that this will be a short stay but an exact number of months has not been determined); assumption of costs by the United States (All costs will be paid by the North American country, so the country will not have to use its resources); and determined number of migrants of this nationality (There is no set number at the moment but the maximum number will be 4,000), ”Espinosa said.

According to the United States government, this document is issued to Afghan and Iraqi allies who have worked as translators, interpreters or other trades with the United States in the past. Previously, this only covered 50 people per year. From now on, it will be the guarantee that covers those who escape the Taliban. First, you need to request the document from the head of the local embassy, ​​in this case Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg. Then the local visa office will need to review the documents provided, which will take 38 working days.

Colombia is also working to regularize around one million Venezuelan migrants who have arrived fleeing the crisis in that country. “The United States will not only cover all the costs of supporting these people, it will also help the agility of its immigration processes,” said Duque.

KEEP READING: