The Colombian conflict —the oldest in America— has thrown many people abroad, especially during the last five years. The victims have been, and are, anybody who represents an obstacle for the purposes of any of the armed forces in conflict. The spectrum is the wideranging: from peasants to landowners passing by politicians, business people, intellectuals, union-leaders, housewives and even children. 

When the situation becomes extremely dangerous, they do not have any other choice than leave their towns, farms, lands, cities, houses, jobs, family and friends. Some of them will integrate groups of displace people within the country, losing consequentially their traditions and increasing poverty, in shantytowns around the main cities.

Others will seek for protection in other countries. The majority have been persecuted or threatened, and feel defenseless. All of them are considered forced migrants in the sense that they did not chose to leave freely, rather the situation forced them to flee.

This article is about those who leave the country to the United States and the possibilities they have to get protection in that country according to International regulations about refugees and internal legislation and jurisprudence about asylum, removal procedures and withholding of removal.

This analysis combines existing regulations and Court decisions with some homeland security measures that are commanding today the treatment of foreigners after the September 11 attacks.