The profile of venezuelan migrants in Uberlândia and the role of the legal clinic for migrants in irregular situation or at ris

Abstract

Uberlândia is the third municipality that receives the most migrants in the state of Minas Ge-rais and this is not a recent characteristic, existing thus since the beginning of the 20th century. However, from the moment in which Brazil began to receive Venezuelan migrants in greater numbers, notably after ‘Operação Acolhida’, it was noted that their dislocation to the city also grew. It so happens that the profile of the Venezuelan migrants who were arriving in the munic-ipality was uncertain, just as what were the difficulties they faced. Hence, through a partner-ship between the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais and the Legal Clinic for Mi-grants in Irregular Situation or at Risk (AJESIR, in the Portuguese acronym) of the Federal Uni-versity of Uberlândia, semi-structured interviews with Venezuelans domiciled in Uberlândia duly authorized by the Ethics Committee were held intended to map their profile and the situa-tion they were found at. Furthermore, such interviews also contributed to the analysis of AJESIR's performance in the municipality, demonstrating its impact on the reception, provision of information and regularization of migrants, in addition to carrying out sporadic activities of a social nature. In the end, it is concluded that the survey served not only to reaffirm the role of AJESIR, but also to demonstrate the areas that would need more attention or improvement.