Thousands of Cubans in Uruguay will remain illegal with this new measure

A new measure by the Uruguayan government could leave thousands of Cubans in that South American country without papers, in immigration limbo, as they entered illegally via the “Guiana route”, passing irregularly through countries such as Brazil.

Alberto Gianotti, founder of the Immigrant Support Network in Uruguay, noted that the new measure, which requires an entry and exit stamp from Brazil, which Cubans do not have, will leave more than 9,000 Cubans without documents, who have been there for more than two years. year

according to Newspaper Observer Uruguay, Cubans frequently seek and then give up asylum in Uruguay and request a legal residence visa within the tiny South American country. Now, to obtain this visa, they require legal seals to pass through Brazil, something that has been “ignored” before by the same immigration authorities that now require it.

Measure in Uruguay affects Cuban immigrants

This “new procedure” has been known since the end of March this year. Little by little, the cases of Cubans who could not be legalized began to pile up, always with the same requirements for the exit stamp from Brazil. They also confirm that two months ago they instructed border posts to demand these stamps from Cubans who continued to try to enter Uruguay.

The path to Uruguay is not hidden from anyone. Cubans arrive in Guyana, which does not require a visa, pass through Brazil illegally and at the Uruguay border ask for asylum. While their cases were being considered, the Cubans agreed to a form of temporary residence, giving them access to work, health, and education.

Soon after, they had to give up their right to asylum and find another way to survive legally. Now on this scale the problems begin for the Cubans in Uruguay. There are still thousands of apps stuck.

They say from the government that they are studying the characteristics of the situation in which thousands of Cubans will remain. All this while “civil society”, such as Red del Migrante, is asking Uruguay to remove the visa from Cubans so that they can get directly into the country, without wandering through South American smuggling networks.