In Venezuela, immigration has been characterized by the import of foreign workers. Premised by the status of their economy, immigration in Venezuela has been a product of their sense of stability and a response to their demands for success. Venezuela's attempts to achieve a level of immigration equilibrium have resulted in both over and under compensations of policy and perspective. Throughout their shifts, Colombians have remained their constant source of imported labor, whether they were recognized by the government or not. Although Venezuela's immigration policy reflects dramatic oscillations, their dependence on Colombian labor has remained stable. Venezuela's experience demonstrates how the reality of immigration is better predicted and influenced by the economic and social state of a nation than by any formal policy.
[...] “Rural Violence in Colombia: 1948-1963.” The Western Political Quarterly, Vol 27, No 4 pg 657-679. University of Utah: 1974. Eder, George Jackson. “Urban Concentration, Agriculture, and Agrarian Reform.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol 360, Latin America Tomorrow pg 27-47. Sage: 1965. Marmora, Lelio. “Labor Migration Policy in Colombia.” International Migration Review, Vol 13, No pg 440-454. The Center for Migration Studies of New York: 1979. Martine, George. “Volume, Characteristics and Consequences of Internal Migration in Colombia.” Demography, [...]
[...] Immigration is not necessarily responsive to policy, so policy must not be absolute by nature. In the case of Venezuela, their motivation for accepting immigration was to better their economy, so the policy that placed migration in relation to their economy was most effective for them. Immigration policy cannot predict how migration will affect or recompose a country's population, yet it should reflect the immigration and overall ideals a country seeks to accomplish. Works Cited: Andean Community. Lima: 2001. < http:>. [...]
[...] Producer's associations passed recommendations for policy change, newspapers published regular complaints from employers, and labor unions fought hard to make the labor shortages a visible issue. Employers and laborers alike saw immigration regulations as an obstacle to fulfilling their need and furthering their economic success. It is from this that immigration emerges as fundamental and necessary to the Venezuelan labor ideology. Venezuela had originally put such conservative legislation into practice in order to protect the employment of its citizens, yet its citizens responded by demonstrating that less “population” protection would offer them more economic protection. [...]
[...] Undocumented immigrants from Colombia and the surrounding regions were invisible to Venezuela's government, yet essential to Venezuela's economy. Colombians immigrated for predominately economic motives, although there were definite social and political causes as well. Colombia's civil war, La Violencia, lasted until 1963, reaching severe and unparalleled murder and violence rates. This period destroyed agricultural production, causing rural areas to empty as millions fled to cities such as Bogotá and Cali. When La Violencia ended, Colombia was disfigured socially and economically, and violence still remained ingrained in their society. [...]
[...] This suggests that many Colombians were already seeking opportunity outside their environments, and that external migration patterns would naturally coincide with or follow the internal ones already occurring. Those that immigrated were mostly male, with 65% being under 30 years of age (Roy 548). Many women migrated as well, as there were thousands of readily available domestic and service sector jobs in Venezuela. Most migrated illegally into rural agricultural posts; less than of Colombian migrants took managerial or administrative positions (Sassen-Koob 465). [...]
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