Center for Effective Global Action

How does facilitating the economic integration of migrants change migrant’s fertility decisions? We leverage a panel survey representative of Venezuelan irregular migrants in Colombia to compare the fertility decisions of eligible and ineligible households before and after a large migratory amnesty was launched in Colombia in 2018. The amnesty granted irregular migrants a labor permit and access to full social services. Our results suggest that the amnesty lowered the likelihood of having a child among program beneficiaries, possibly driven by better labor market opportunities for women and better access to family planning through health services.