International Migration in the Americas

The OAS, along with OECD and ECLAC, has published a length document, International Migration in the Americas.  Particularly noteworthy is the fact that it does not simply center on migration to the United States.

One important point to take away is in fact troubling:

Although Latin America and the Caribbean are not considered as important destination regions  for persons seeking asylum from persecution, requests for asylum have increased to approximately 49 000 in 2009, an increase of 73% when compared to figures from 2008, and quadruple the total recorded in 2000. By contrast, Canada alone received about 34 000 claims in 2009 and the United States 38 000. Ecuador was the principal receiving country of requests for asylum in Latin America and the Caribbean, receiving almost 36 000 requests, in large part from Colombian citizens fleeing conflict zones near the border with Ecuador.  

Here is the table from the report (you can click for a bigger view):

It is a reminder that we need about the effects of Colombian violence on Ecuador, where the growth of asylum seekers is staggering.  It also raises a question to which I do not know the answer: why was there a major dip, then a major surge, in people seeking asylum in Canada?