RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Public Security Minister Raul Jungmann denied on Thursday that the federal government has been negligent on the matter of the immigration crisis in the country.
Brazil has experienced a sharp rise in the influx of Venezuelan immigrants in the past year and a half. The majority of them enter Brazil through the small town of Pacaraima in Roraima state in the country's northern region.
Though some immigrants have moved to other Brazilian states, the bulk of them stayed in Roraima state, and Pacaraima in particular has suffered the most with the extra population, which led to a significant increase of demands for public healthcare, education and housing.
There are large numbers of Venezuelan immigrants living in Pacaraima's streets, and the state capital Boa Vista has also registered a hike in the homeless population.
The federal government was much criticized for their approach to the immigration crisis. Roraima state accuses the government of not providing enough aid.
Recently, the tension in Pacaraima exploded in several attacks by xenophobic groups om Venezuelan immigrants, forcing many of them to return to their country of origin or to flee to other towns or jungle areas.
The government however denied any negligence, saying that the "federal authorities have been visiting Roraima since the beginning of the migratory crisis," and the measures such as border planning, screening of immigrants, and house construction have already been undertaken.
"Responsibility over facts like these must be attributed to the tragic situation in Venezuela. Obviously this migration takes place in a moment when infrastructure is very insufficient. The federal government has been trying to do whatever is within our reach," Jungmann said.
Jungmann denied granting more federal resources to Roraima, saying that the state has yet to spend all the money already made available by the federal administration.
