Protecting the Vulnerable: How Migrant Regularization Reduces Crime and Empowers Women

Does granting legal status to undocumented migrants affect crime? This paper studies Colombia's PEP regularization program, which provided temporary work permits and access to social services to over 281,000 Venezuelan forced migrants—offering a unique natural experiment to examine this question.

We find two key results. First, cities with higher program take-up saw increased crime reports by female Venezuelan migrants, particularly for domestic violence and sexual crimes. This suggests the program empowered vulnerable women to report abuses without fear of deportation. Survey data confirms that female PEP holders filed complaints at significantly higher rates than those without legal status.

Second, the program led to a reduction in crimes committed by Venezuelans and in total crime reports by Colombian natives. Regularization increased the legal costs of committing crimes (undocumented migrants were previously difficult to prosecute due to legislative loopholes) while also improving migrants' economic conditions, reducing incentives for criminal behavior.