The migration organization reports that Venezuela has a long history of internal conflict and economic instability, but the country reached a turning point in 2016. Inflation accelerated to over 130,000 percent in 2018. Political violence directed against protesters and political opponents, widespread violence and the collapse of public services (especially the health system) lead to a humanitarian crisis during which More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their country, mainly between 2016 and 2021.
About 6.5 million Venezuelans have moved to other Latin American and Caribbean countries, while the United States and Spain each received half a million or more. Not all Venezuelans identify as refugees (partly due to a lack of information on the extended refugee definition of the Cartagena Declaration), but almost all describe their displacement as forced and existential.
At the beginning of the crisis, governments in the region largely welcomed Venezuelans, granting them some form of legal status, although they did not necessarily apply existing laws incorporating the Cartagena Declaration’s expanded definition of who is a refugee.
This initial generosity was fueled by a groundswell of initial public support for the reception and integration of displaced Venezuelans, often based on assumptions of reciprocity, given previous large-scale migration from countries such as Colombia to Venezuela. However, welcoming approaches will soon give way to more public skepticism and political backlash, following a significant increase in the number of Venezuelans in most countries in 2019 and 2020. Regional politics also play a role in political decisions.
The data presented below was collected by the Migration Policy Institute between 2017 and 2021. These are the US counties with the most Venezuelans:
Miami-Dade County (Florida): 93,900
Broward County (Florida): 46,500
Orange County (Florida): 29,800
Harris County (Texas): 24,000
Osceola County (Florida): 12,700
Fort Bend County (Texas): 10,600
Palm Beach County (Florida): 10,100
Hillsborough County (Florida): 8,700
Gwinnett County (Georgia): 5,800
Los Angeles County (California): 5,200
Cook County (Illinois): 4,900
Seminole County (Florida): 4,500
Salt Lake County (Utah): 4,300
Queens County (New York): 4,300
Hudson County (New Jersey): 4,100
