Over the last year an unprecedented wave of Venezuelan immigrants flooded the US-Mexico border
prompting talk of a new migrant crisis. The Venezuelan migration to the US is part of the largest such
exodus in the history of the Americas. The scale and scope of the Venezuelan migration crisis raises
important questions. Why have so many Venezuelans opted to leave their country in recent years? How
have Venezuelan migrants fared in other countries and how in turn have they affected those countries
that receive them? What dangers and opposition do they face on their journeys? What is the future of
Venezuelan migrants in the US? And how is this phenomenon impacting US-Venezuelan relations? In
this article, we draw on dozens of semi-structured interviews and informal conversations conducted
between 2019 and the present by the authors with Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Mexico, and the
United States. Combining these primary sources with other available academic and media-based
publications, we explore why so many Venezuelans have left their country in recent years, the realities
awaiting them in receiving countries and along their journeys, and what ultimately this means for this
new diaspora in the United States and for the country itself.
Over the last year an unprecedented wave of Venezuelan immigrants flooded the US-Mexico border
prompting talk of a new migrant crisis. The Venezuelan migration to the US is part of the largest such
exodus in the history of the Americas. The scale and scope of the Venezuelan migration crisis raises
important questions. Why have so many Venezuelans opted to leave their country in recent years? How
have Venezuelan migrants fared in other countries and how in turn have they affected those countries
that receive them? What dangers and opposition do they face on their journeys? What is the future of
Venezuelan migrants in the US? And how is this phenomenon impacting US-Venezuelan relations? In
this article, we draw on dozens of semi-structured interviews and informal conversations conducted
between 2019 and the present by the authors with Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, Mexico, and the
United States. Combining these primary sources with other available academic and media-based
publications, we explore why so many Venezuelans have left their country in recent years, the realities
awaiting them in receiving countries and along their journeys, and what ultimately this means for this
new diaspora in the United States and for the country itself.