How migrants bear the burden of crime and bias: Evidence from the Venezuelan migration to Colombia

Abstract

The literature on the effects of migration on crime has primarily focused on South-North migration. Exploiting the recent Venezuelan migration wave that disproportionately affected Colombia, this paper examines the impact of South-South migration on crime and law enforcement outcomes. Leveraging the predicted distribution of Venezuelan migrants across Colombian municipalities, we find that increased migration is associated with an overall reduction in crime. However, this average effect masks a marked heterogeneity between native and migrant victims. While crimes against natives decrease, migrants experience a sharp surge in victimization, becoming the primary victims of assaults, gender-based violence, and homicides. These results are robust to using either a shift-share or a difference-in-differences identification strategy. Our analysis of arrest data further reveals similar heterogeneity, with an increase in migrant detentions only. Notably, a significant proportion of detained migrants are released shortly after apprehension, suggesting insufficient evidence and a potential bias in law enforcement practices against migrant populations. Our findings highlight a troubling pattern of “double victimization” against migrants. Joint paper with with Santiago Tobón and Martín Vanegas-Arias.