Brazil judge bars Venezuelan border crossings

Brazilian federal judge Helder Barreto has prohibited Venezuelan migrants from crossing the border into Brazil's northern state of Roraima, a spokesman for the regional judiciary said Monday.

Barreto ordered the border closed until the frontier state can create "humanitarian" conditions to receive the massive influx. His ruling only applies to Venezuelans, without affecting other nationalities, according to German news agency DPA.

Read more: Opinion: Venezuela on the verge of imploding

The injunction has yet to go into effect pending an appeal by Brazilian government lawyers. Hundreds of Venezuelans continued to walk across Brazil's northern border, a border official said.

Over the past three years, tens of thousands of Venezuelans have fled their country's economic and political turmoil, migrating to Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile and other countries in the region.

Roraima overburdened

The mass migration of Venezuelans into Brazil has overwhelmed social services, causing a humanitarian crisis. Many of them are extremely poor and sleep on the streets or in hostels amid rising crime and prostitution.

Roraima's Governor Suely Campos has requested the closure of the state's border with Venezuela and has repeatedly protested against the presence of the migrants, saying they have brought public services to the brink of collapse. On Thursday, the state government decreed Venezuelans seeking medical or other social services would have to present a valid passport, which many of the migrants do not have.

Barreto ruled that such a measure was "discriminatory" and didn't align with Brazilian laws. He suspended a provision that would allow for the deportation or expulsion of Venezuelan migrants who committed illegal acts. He also ordered the vaccination of migrants admitted to Brazil.

But Barreto ordered the suspension of border crossings from Venezuela until the migrants can be redistributed throughout brazil as quickly as they enter the country.

The Brazilian Air Force began airlifting Venezuelan migrants from Roraima for resettlement in other Brazilian cities in accordance with recommendations by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHRC). However, more than 500 Venezuelans cross into Brazil per day on average, many of whom stay in Roraima because they cannot afford to move elsewhere.

dv/aw (AFP, Reuters)

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