Ecuador says 'no one is illegal' in proposed law to help asylum seekers, migrants

June 10, 2015
Issue 
Colombian asylum seekers in Ecuador.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa announced radical plans to support asylum-seekers and stateless people. Ecuador’s socialist government is proposing a new law to make all migrants legal in the country.

Correa said during his weekly address: “The right to migrate is guaranteed in the rules. No human being will be considered illegal.”

The new legislation will cover all areas of migration, as well as visas, passports, and identity documents for foreigners. Correa said the current law, in place since 1979 involves 18 different categories of visa, but the new rules this cut this to four.

“They guarantee rights to foreigners in Ecuador: asylum seekers, the stateless, among others,” he added. The government will also introduce programs to integrate foreigners into day-to-day Ecuadorean life.

[Reprinted from TeleSUR English.]

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