BOGOTA — Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered a nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants, directing authorities to detain and deport individuals without legal status or those who have committed crimes. Operations are scheduled to begin this week.
De la Espriella, in office for just over two weeks, made the announcement Sunday during a cabinet meeting in Barranquilla, designated as an alternative capital.
The directive comes as Colombia manages the aftermath of a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on August 10 that killed more than 300 people and destroyed over 30,000 homes.
The president said coordinated operations involving police and migration authorities would "track down illegal immigrants," targeting first those committing crimes and second "those who have not regularised their status and who will have to be deported immediately."
De la Espriella aligned his stance with U.S. President Donald Trump's "Americans first" rhetoric, declaring Colombia's policy would henceforth be "Colombians first, Colombians second and Colombians third."
The Colombian president joins regional leaders allied with Trump who have implemented stricter migration rules, including Argentina's Javier Milei and Chile's José Antonio Kast.
While de la Espriella did not directly name Venezuelans, they constitute approximately 90 percent of all migrants in Colombia. Of the 2.8 million Venezuelans residing in the country, about 848,000 are in irregular status, including 193,000 children and adolescents.
The order has drawn criticism from opposition parties and human rights activists, who argue it will dismantle a migration policy maintained for more than a decade under both rightwing and leftwing administrations. That policy has allowed migrants to regularize status, particularly those fleeing Venezuela's humanitarian crisis.
Leftwing Senator María José Pizarro Rodríguez questioned the president's announcement, asking if he was "proposing a Colombian ICE against fellow Latin Americans," referencing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She characterized the order as "pure xenophobia and aporophobia" and urged the government to regularize migrant status instead of "persecuting people fleeing poverty and violence."
During his campaign, de la Espriella's platform focused on an "iron-fist policy" against criminal groups and anti-immigration rhetoric.
In the same announcement, de la Espriella declared all gangs involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining, extortion and smuggling as "terrorists." He said, "Whatever happens, we will defeat them, by reason or by force."
