RIO DE JANEIRO, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government reaffirmed on Thursday the measures taken to receive immigrants who arrive in the country.
On the presidency's official twitter account, the government published a video in which they reaffirm the country's disposition to receive the numerous immigrants from Venezuela who entered the country over the past two years.
In the video, a narrator says that it is a humanitarian matter, and thus the government cannot turn their back on the immigrants. The video stresses that the Venezuelans migrated to Brazil not for preference, but for survival.
In the past years, Brazil has seen a significant rise in the number of immigrants, including a wave of Haitian immigrants, following the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, and the arrival of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants through the northern border.
The immigrants are entering the country through the sparsely populated state of Roraima, which has been feeling the impact of a sudden and sharp increase in the population.
Actions to accommodate the extra population are being taken, and some of the immigrants have been relocated to other states. However, Roraima is still facing the largest impact from the sudden rise in Venezuelan immigration.
The state government wanted the federal authorities to close the border to prevent more immigrants from arriving, but the federal government denied.
Earlier Thursday, Brazilian President Michel Temer visited Roraima, reaffirming that the government will not close the border, but promising to attend to the needs of the border state.
