By: Staff Writer
August 28, 2026
Colombia’s recently elected president, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced a sweeping immigration crackdown in the country targeting Venezuelan’s in a move he characterizes as a political decision.
On Sunday Esperiella ordered the start of police operations to pursue and deport irregular migrants, a complete reversal of the policy the country that has received the largest share of the Venezuelan diaspora has followed for more than a decade.
“Begin coordinated operations to find illegal immigrants, first those committing crimes, second those who have not regularized their status and who, within the timeframe, will have to be deported,” he said during a security council meeting in Barranquilla, the Caribbean city he has effectively turned into an alternate capital of the country.
The president called for the immigration crackdown to focus on the immediate deportation of two targets, first those committing crimes and second those who have not “regularized their status.”
“I will not accept any illegal immigrants, wherever they come from,” de la Espriella said at a security council meeting in Barranquilla, adding that “it is a political decision I am taking responsibility for.”
De la Espriella’s emphasis on the deportation of people without regular status — meaning they do not have a visa or permit authorizing them to stay in the country — effectively upends years of Colombian immigration policy that had transcended political ideology in Colombia.
“The order to Migration is clear: Start operations in coordination with the police in Barranquilla to find illegal immigrants — first, those committing crimes; second, those with their situation not regularized, who, in the end, will have to be deported.”
Though de la Espriella did not single them out in his remarks, the policy will have the largest impact on Venezuelans, who make up the majority of the country’s immigrants and who share a 1,378-mile land border with Colombia.
Amid an economic crisis that roiled their home country, millions of Venezuelans have migrated to Colombia since 2015, according to the United Nations. Though estimates vary, they generally suggest that more than 500,000 Venezuelans currently live in Colombia without regular status.