Integration of Unemployed Venezuelan Immigrant Women in Colombia

Abstract

The integration of immigrants in a host society must consider aspects related to the labour field, as well as other factors including their differences. The existence of 97 unemployed Venezuelan migrant women living in Cúcuta, Los Patios and La Parada, border cities of Norte de Santander, Colombia with the state of Táchira, places them at a disadvantage in terms of integration; hence, this study set out to propose strategies to guide governance officials and actors in managing their integration. By means of a multidimensional analysis, three profiles of these unemployed migrant women were obtained for their diversity, generating strategies for each profile in structural, social and cultural contexts; through this, it became evident that the characteristics of those who settle as immigrants can be considered in order to establish integration strategies in line with these characteristics. Thus, the methodology of the study could be useful in other areas of migration for the design of integration strategies that consider the heterogeneity of immigrants to facilitate their contribution to the society and economy of the country that has hosted them.

1. Introduction

Migration, according to Grzymala-Kazlowska and Ryan (2022), involves a change in the lives of migrants, who begin integration through adaptation, belonging, affection and settling in uncertain spaces, and broader sociopolitical changes, through which they become immigrants, as defined by the International Organisation for Migration (2019). As members of society, they have characteristics that differentiate them from each other, such as their educational level, age, marital status, migratory status, place of residence, length of residence and future goals, among others, presenting a heterogeneity of identities (González-Rábago 2014) whose particularities, according to Spencer and Charsley (2021), influence the integration process, impeding or facilitating it. Therefore, in order to promote integration, the host society poses challenges for governance in the design of inclusive public policies that address the diverse characteristics of immigrants in order to provide welfare and opportunities for income generation, contribute to the creation of links with those who share social capital (Schiff 2002) and, in this way, allow immigrant groups to achieve self-sufficiency in their new society.

In Venezuela, since 2016, due to the country’s economic, social and political crisis, which has led to one of the great humanitarian crises, a large migratory flow has been unleashed that has become the second largest international displacement crisis in the world (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2024), which has meant a challenge in the management of regional organisations, civil society and governments to meet the needs of migrants; this has led to favourable agreements on the rights of immigrants in terms of formal work, health services, education, regulations regarding mobility and access to regularisation in Latin American and Caribbean host countries (Acosta et al. 2019; Cerruti 2020). According to the August 2023 statistics from the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (2023), there are 6,527,064 Venezuelan refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers in Latin America and the Caribbean, of which 2,894,593 are in Colombia, which makes it the largest host country of Venezuelan refugees and immigrants in the world, with the border area of the State of Táchira (Venezuela) and the Department of Norte de Santander (Colombia) being one of the main access points to the country.

Then, in the order of ideas of international migration, there is a complex dynamic, which, according to Marroni (2016), needs to be understood; within this dynamic, there is the integration of immigrants in the host communities. Colombia as a receiving country, faced with the high number of immigrants and refugees, has sought to ensure that these people can integrate into the country, transforming migration into an opportunity for the development and growth of the region; thus, Colombia has created programmes, such as the Colombian Chapter of the Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) 2023–2024, to provide migrants and refugees with opportunities for integration and ensure that migration facilitates development and growth in the region (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia 2022).

However, according to the Interagency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (2022), the integration process has been difficult for immigrants, as there are no opportunities for them to obtain income through formal employment and entrepreneurship, and they are therefore included in the informal sector and in unemployment.

Immigrant women are at a disadvantage, as a situation is created that hinders their integration into the community where they live, as they are not valued economically and socially, to the extent that they are forced to engage in informal activities with precarious incomes, little access to public services or domestic work, and are therefore unable to take responsibility for their own expenses and are given the status of being inactive, dedicated to caring for children or carrying out traditional housewife tasks (Larrañaga et al. 2012; Kersh 2020).

As a result, they are excluded from the convergence of roles proposed by Goldin (2014), making it difficult for them to meet their basic needs and, in some cases, preventing children and adolescents from attending school due to the precariousness of their income (International Organisation for Migration 2021).

On the other hand, among the scientific research on the integration of immigrants is that of González-Rábago (2014), who, in the face of migratory flows, considers the management of diversity as a challenge, taking social cohesion as an important element for social order, which is why it is required to control the reality of human mobility and the effects that arise from integration. In this sense, Uldemolins’ research (2017) addresses the risk related to migration, presenting some strategies of the state aimed at the integration of immigrants in the search to reduce the social risks involved, since, upon their arrival, reactions of various kinds are generated, and social equilibrium is put to the test; furthermore, as Zulver and Idler (2020) argue in their study, in border areas, such as Venezuela–Colombia, conditions of acute violence and risk are heightened by the existence of armed groups that aggravate gender-based violence. Also, Delgado (2007), discusses and analyses the processes of integration of immigrants in host countries or territories, and considers that integration implies imagining national institutional forms and structures that lead to the unification of a diverse population, for which the state must seek ways to make immigrants nationals (although not in terms of citizenship), reconfiguring the nation state in scenarios that make it possible to increase cultural diversity.

According to Uldemolins (2017), immigrants are perceived as somewhat homogeneous groups that alter the awareness of the citizens of the receiving society, for whom those who arrive are different. For the natives, immigrants are a threat from a socioeconomic point of view, since they are competitors for access to work or public goods such as health, education and social services; and from the political–social point of view, since they affect their way of life.

Thus, according to Delgado (2007), González-Rábago (2014) and Uldemolins (2017), the presence of measures that favour integration is important, considering the heterogeneity and social diversity of the people who are welcomed as immigrants, through bidirectional management in which there is shared protagonism between immigrants and the host society, which in turn leads to neutralising the possible dangers that may arise from immigrants.

It is therefore necessary to organise social cohesion in the host society according to the types of migration policies that immigrants encounter on their arrival in the host society, institutional resources, legitimisation models and social relations networks, if immigrants belong to them, as a form of social capital which facilitates the movement from the country of origin to the destination country and provides ways for immigrants’ articulation both in terms of work and ratification, so that the immigrant is not considered a disturbing or harmful element for the national identity.

An example of this is the training of professionals who attend to the migrant population or the implementation of actions for natives that contribute to combating discrimination.

Similarly, in the context of scientific research, studies have been conducted on the integration of Venezuelan immigrants, such as that of Delgado-Linero (2021), who studied the processes of occupational inclusion and the labour trajectory of professional university immigrants from the oil sector based in 2018 in the economic-functional region (REF) of Villahermosa, Mexico, who emigrated from 2003 to 2014.

The profile of these immigrants was determined by finding common elements other than the choice of destination country, by considering job opportunities in Villahermosa that did not require extensive work experience or specific job offers within a transnational company, and the existence of networks of friends, former co-workers or acquaintances, in addition to the existence of similarities between the Mexican oil wells and Venezuelan ones, which contributed to adaptation and integration in the area.

Integration was rated with positive attributes for living, although some immigrants mentioned lack of infrastructure, roads, services and security, and others recognised cultural attractions, gastronomy, the tranquillity of the place, economic facilities and the presence of a supermarket, squares and an airport.

Reflecting on this study, thanks to their identity as qualified oil-sector professionals, these immigrants were able to achieve the income required to have satisfactory living conditions and well-being. It was therefore easy for them to integrate into the society of Villahermosa socially, culturally and productively, with economic opportunities for professional and personal development, so that they have contributed to the development of Mexico. However, the situation presented by Delgado-Linero (2021) is not common; not all Venezuelan immigrants are formally integrated into the labour market and most of them are in the informal sector of the economy, not enjoying the guarantees provided by the labour regulations of the receiving country, even when they have adequate levels of education or training (Virtuoso 2021). Stein (2019) considers that the Venezuelan migratory flow includes a progressive number of vulnerable people in need of international protection, without qualifications or high levels of education, who leave their country in search of employment opportunities and access to basic services. Thus, the integration of Venezuelans in the country to which they have decided to emigrate is a difficult process that requires attention by virtue of their socio-economic particularities, requiring consideration of these characteristics in the design of integration strategies.

Also, Ávila et al. (2021) presents a documentary study on Venezuelan migration, supported by an analysis of reports from international and national organisations that support the need for the construction of public policies to comprehensively address the migrant, so that economic, academic and social needs are met to ensure survival and decent living conditions, with guaranteed food, health, employment, security and housing with the basic services required. The study presents tables that explain and guide migration policy on education and health, giving high importance to labour integration of Venezuelan migrants as the focus of the research analysis. The approaches that emerge from the analysis seek to improve governance in the various areas of Colombia’s social policy, to strengthen a migration policy that achieves the goal of flawless integration of Venezuelan immigrants who have characteristics of vulnerability due to their socioeconomic conditions that prevent them from regularizing their status in the country and having the necessary social protection, education and health services. They also have disadvantages in terms of socio-educational conditions that prevent them from obtaining a job that provides them with adequate income for themselves and their families; in addition, they have variability in their migratory capacity, which conditions their migratory status, making this whole set of diverse characteristics obstacles to inclusion and integration.

Accordingly, from scientific research, it is necessary to find knowledge that contributes to achieving the proper integration of immigrants under the premise of equal rights and without discrimination, eliminating the obstacles that prevent the integration of immigrants, especially the most vulnerable, in order to comply with international commitments, reduce existing negative effects and increase benefits in the social development of the receiving country (González-Rábago 2014; Ávila et al. 2021). This should take into account, among the elements that affect the possibilities of integration to the migratory status, the legality of their entry to the country; having a job; the possibility of entrepreneurship; and access to housing, aid and public services; together with the possibility of understanding the other who is different, sharing feelings and attitudes of their experiences to approach an identity in the host place with a common history and cultural life, and considering the decisive role of the host society represented by the institutions that define the policies and the scenario where integration will take place considering the legal, socioeconomic and cultural fields (Uldemolins 2017).

In another order of ideas, the cities of Cúcuta, Los Patios and La Parada are located in a geographical space where social and economic relations have historically developed along the Colombian–Venezuelan border (University of Pamplona and Ministry of Education Colombia 2014). These cities belong to the municipalities of San José de Cúcuta, Los Patios and Villa del Rosario in the Department of Norte de Santander (Colombia), which are part of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta; these municipalities have been characterised by a strong social, economic and cultural relationship between the inhabitants of both sides of the border, with ties that have been historically preserved in commercial, industrial, service, formal and informal activities carried out on both sides of the border until the closure of the border in 2015 by the Venezuelan president, demonstrating the unique reality that has allowed the transit of people (such as workers and students) and goods across the international boundary, and the conduct of commercial transactions on either side on a daily basis, in a proper and natural way without complying with the relevant national rules (Sánchez 2011).

These ties have produced a specific regional and border compatibility in the cultural, social and economic spheres, with a propensity towards the globalising transnational in those who live in this area (Bustamante de Pernía and Chacón 2013).

Hence, for Venezuelan immigrants, this border area is a socially favourable place to settle; however, according to the labour indicators presented by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (2022), unemployment in the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta is higher than that at the national level. For January 2021, the unemployment rate for women was 22.3 and 17.1 for men; for women between 14 and 28 years of age, the unemployment rate was 31.4 and for men between those ages it was 22.4.

The employed population for the year 2021 in the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta with respect to the Department of Norte de Santander was approximately 62%, working mostly in commerce and vehicle repair, followed by agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing; mining and quarrying; electricity, gas, steam and water supply; and, to a lesser extent, in industry and manufacturing. For the same year, the informally employed population was 70.5%, the highest proportion of the 13 capital cities and Metropolitan Areas of Colombia. As a result, the integration process becomes difficult in the face of the labour scenario that arises.

In this context of integration, a study was carried out with data from a survey of 177 immigrants residing in the border cities of Cúcuta, Los Patios and La Parada in the department of Norte de Santander, which showed that 97 women were unemployed. The objective was to propose strategies that contribute to the integration of these unemployed women into the society in which they have decided to remain, considering the heterogeneity of their identities (Delgado 2007; González-Rábago 2014; Ávila et al. 2021), based on the theoretical approaches of Spencer and Charsley (2021), thus answering the following question: What strategies can be proposed to contribute to the integration of unemployed Venezuelan immigrant women residing in the border cities of Cúcuta, Los Patios and La Parada in the department of Norte de Santander, into the society in which they have decided to remain?

Thus, to achieve the objective of the study, it was necessary to determine the profiles of unemployed immigrant women to, based on them, devise actions that could guide officials and agents of local governance in charge of managing the integration of these Venezuelan immigrant women, considering sociodemographic factors, migratory status, migratory process and conditions of unemployment. Consequently, the aforementioned factors were established from theory and analysed to relate them to the profiles of the unemployed immigrant women under study, from which three groups emerged, each of which was assigned some strategies with potential to facilitate integration in the cities where they have decided to stay, strategies that emerged from the results and the theoretical aspects considered.

In this way, the study can provide guidance on how to adjust the design of integration strategies for the immigrant population according to their characteristics. Thus, the research contributes to the creation of knowledge to facilitate the understanding of the complex dynamics of international migration, specifically with regard to the integration of immigrants in the receiving society. The study relates specifically to the migration problem arising in Venezuela, in which there is a diversity of individuals, and offers knowledge that links this diversity with actions that can contribute to the solution of the problems that arise with respect to the integration of these people into the new society.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Integration

Integration comprises a succession of multidirectional events in spatial, transnational and temporal dimensions, characterised by the interaction between individuals and institutions in structural, social, cultural, civic and identity-related contexts and involving personal and social changes. In the process of integration, the structural context is aligned with the immigrant’s participation in the labour market, housing, education and health systems. The social context can be established through social interaction, relationships and networks. The cultural context is formed through the behaviour, attitudes, changes in values and lifestyles of those who participate in this interaction. The civic and political context is based on community life, the democratic process and identity through the development of processes that people of different origins carry out to form an identity that they share along with a sense of belonging to the place they inhabit, such as the community, region and nation, beginning with the people with whom they live (Spencer and Charsley 2021).

Moreover, factors related to individuals; policies, including limitations to rights; transnational networks, relationships, and remittances; and societal circumstances, configured by inequalities in the system can affect integration (Spencer and Charsley 2021). Thus, in this study, the following factors were considered: (a) sociodemographic factors related to individuals, (b) migration status mediated by policies, (c) migration process enabled by social networks and relationships and (d) unemployment conditions related to circumstantial factors in society.

2.2. Sociodemographic Factors

People who migrate have different characteristics, personal factors, needs, places of origin, family situations, ages, genders, qualifications, occupational profiles, economic resources and performances. Moreover, they have different aims, one of which is to stay in the society they have migrated to. Therefore, among the factors that define the migration process are the socioeconomic characteristics of migrants (Sandis 1970; De Lucas 2002; Parella et al. 2013), but without ignoring customs, laws, language, culture, discrimination and the sometimes-negative reception environment that exists in the place where they are located, leading to marginalisation and discarding of opportunities (Scaramutti et al. 2023). Venezuelan migrants come from precarious and diverse socioeconomic conditions, making them vulnerable in the host country and subjecting them to socio-educational and institutional barriers to accessing employment (Ávila et al. 2021). Knowledge of their differences is required to design integration policies that acknowledge their diverse characteristics and recognise them as subjects of human rights assuming the perspective of otherness, with the enjoyment of economic, social, cultural and, in the long term, political rights as the last step. This is essential for the integration of immigrants and their rights to work and health (De Lucas 2002).

Thus, for their absorption into the work force, the age and educational level of migrants are important variables, as those between 18 and 29 years of age face difficulties in obtaining employment due to their limited qualifications and work experience (Bitar 2022). In addition, there are women who migrate independently, joining the labour market of host countries and taking on the burden of supporting their families at home; thus, gender is also an important variable (International Organisation for Migration 2018).

2.3. Migration Status Factor

Labour opportunities are influenced by migration status in relation to human rights in the country of destination. Regular or legal immigrants have more possibilities for social participation and inclusion in health services and thus face less discrimination. However, for those who are undocumented and have migrated illegally, the situation is the opposite (Burton-Jeangros et al. 2021; León-Pérez et al. 2021; Chen 2023). Access to social programmes and formal rights could be ensured if these were stipulated in the laws of the host countries that determine the scope of social protection based on regular or irregular migration status, which could empower migrants to claim their rights (Vera Espinoza et al. 2021).

However, in the situation of vulnerability caused by the lack of economic resources in the receiving country (Ávila et al. 2021), a Venezuelan immigrant may find it impossible to regularise their migration status and thus gain access to the necessary social protection, education and health services, which demonstrates instability in their migration capacity. Likewise, the lack of documents leads to one of the most recurrent difficulties in finding work; employers consider it a major obstacle to hiring migrants. Although Article 100 of the Political Constitution of Colombia (General Secretariat of the Senate of the Republic of Colombia 2023) establishes that foreigners have civil rights equal to those granted to nationals, among which are the rights to work and claim social security, most immigrants only find work in the informal sector, where working conditions and employment stability are dire (Bitar 2022).

2.4. Migration Process Factors

Drachman (1991, 1992) argues that migration consists of three stages: premigration, carried out at the place of origin and departure; transit, the journey undertaken; and settlement in the destination. Each stage may be different based on the social and economic conditions of the migrant and the international context in which migration takes place. In this study, the third stage is considered to be the point at which the migrant has reached the destination. Therefore, the following aspects are linked: the place where the migrant currently lives; the time they have spent living in that place; the year in which they migrated from Venezuela; whether they live with someone, and if so, with whom; and whether they are the head of the household. These aspects help us understand the possibilities of social integration, as the geographical and social context facilitates social ties with locals or migrants from nearby places, providing a degree of density in the network of relationships and social capital that can allow a more feasible integration (Lőrincz and Németh 2022).

In addition, when conditions in the context make it difficult to organise social protection due to formal barriers, immigrant organisations often emerge as substantial actors in social risk management, according to immigrants’ personal needs and challenges, to protect their ethnic relations, to facilitate information exchange, to serve as informal support and to guide integration into society (Barglowski and Bonfert 2022). For example, in Costa Rica, informal employment exchanges have been created by communities of Venezuelans who share information on employment opportunities for Venezuelans in this country, or entrepreneurship projects, or support for the unemployed, or legalisation or regularisation procedures, etc. (Méndez and Fernández 2021).

2.5. Unemployment Conditions

Lang (2021) states that unemployment among immigrants is fuelled by employers who dismiss candidates of certain ethnic or national origins in the selection process as they believe that migrants have poor skills and cannot adapt to the culture of the organisation or to the interests of clients. They also assume that candidates who are not immigrants fit into the workforce and offer less risk. Furthermore, Bitar (2022) argues that sectors linked to the Colombian business community and the native population do not trust immigrants, and there is little willingness to adopt programmes aimed at their integration.

Therefore, it is important to collect data on the reasons for unemployment as these represent obstacles for the labour integration of immigrants. However, education and skills cannot be considered as the only variables for integration as Colombia has a large informal labour market and an unemployment rate that is among the highest in Latin America (Spencer and Charsley 2021; Peñaloza-Pacheco 2022). In the informal sector, there is the option of self-employment and immigrants compete with workers with a low level of education; thus, there is high labour supply (Lebow 2022). In the case of immigrant women in Colombia, the study by Otero-Cortés et al. (2022) shows that immigrant women with low levels of education are in high competition with native women for domestic jobs. In addition, if immigrants do not have documents, their social rights such as the right to work are limited, although the legislation provides otherwise (Burton-Jeangros et al. 2021).

Likewise, for enabling integration, it is necessary to amend migration policies to contribute to immigrants’ social, labour, cultural and civil integration, highlighting their immigration as an opportunity for the country’s growth (Bitar 2022). To firmly promote the integration of immigrants, it is necessary to implement a labour policy that promotes internal social mechanisms among participating stakeholders, considering the needs of those who are end users and the existing relationship with local stakeholders. Thus, it could boost the welfare of migrants by granting them the rights associated with social security (Coletti and Pasini 2023), as unemployment impacts psychosomatic health (Franco-Vicario 2012).

2.6. Migration Governance in Colombia

In Colombia, social, labour and educational actions derived from norms and provisions have been implemented to address the Venezuelan migration phenomenon. One of these actions was the Temporary Statute of Protection for Venezuelan migrants for 10 years originated by Decree 216 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia 2021), issued by the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (2018). The Statute includes two legal tools: the Single Registry of Venezuelan Migrants (RMUV) under temporary protection and the permit for temporary protection. The Single Registry of Venezuelan Migrants created the possibility of employment, entry to social programmes and the Single Registry of Foreign Workers in Colombia. The Statute also opened the way for the transition of migrants to a regularised status. Other inclusion actions for the Venezuelan immigrant population emerged in 2022 with the Strategy for the integration of the Venezuelan migrant population as a factor in the country’s development (National Council for Economic and Social Policy 2022).

Likewise, in line with action 12 of document 3950 (National Council for Economic and Social Policy 2018), the Colombian Ministry of National Education has been managing the evaluation of the validation of higher education degrees originating in Venezuelan higher education institutions, in order to facilitate access to work for immigrants with university qualifications. In addition, the National Apprenticeship Service is responsible for the recognition of work experience and the learning and skills acquired by regular and returned immigrants from Venezuela, using various strategies, such as (a) the comprehensive fairs of the labour sector, which provide complementary education for regular and returned immigrants over a period of three years, thereby seeking to enable them to enter the labour market and (b) management and employment services through the Public Employment Service Unit. The National Apprenticeship Service also assists entrepreneurs, guiding them in setting up businesses and formal employment. When the immigrant has irregular status, he/she can access the above actions as long as he/she has a valid document for registration in the programmes and for the certification of the services provided.

In parallel, the International Organisation for Migration has supported the Ministry of Labour with workshops at the territorial level for civil servants, the receiving population, employers in the region, immigrants and Colombian returnees, seeking to ensure that public or private entities provide services to this population for their inclusion in the labour market (Ávila et al. 2021). Hence the importance of the study carried out, as the method and the results will be able to guide the actors involved at the local level in the design of strategies for the integration of migrants according to their characteristics, specifically for those who are unemployed.

3. Materials and Methods

For the research, a quantitative methodology was used (Hernández et al. 2014), and data were taken from a structured survey conducted in the cities of Cúcuta, La Parada and Los Patios between 26 July and 16 October 2022. The questionnaire consisted of 92 closed questions; it was systematised in a Google Form and was administered face-to-face, using a mobile phone as the medium for entering responses. Each of the immigrants who responded read the informed consent form and agreed to participate voluntarily in the study.

The target population was made up of Venezuelan immigrants who participate in activities organised by leaders of the Fundación Humildad Extrema in the city of Cúcuta, Fundación Horizonte de Juventud in La Parada and by the community leader in Los Patios. The participation of the migrants was voluntary, they were of legal age, Venezuelan by birth, had emigrated from Venezuela more than a year ago, did not have Colombian nationality and had regular or irregular migratory status in Colombia.

A non-probabilistic snowball sample design was used (Hernández 2021), since the immigrants who were initially invited via their relationships with the community leaders mentioned above collaborated with the insertion of other participants known to them and who were also involved in the activities organised by the foundations and in the community. This resulted in a sample of 177 Venezuelan migrants surveyed, distributed as follows: 110 from Cúcuta, 33 from La Parada and 34 from Los Patios. For the study presented here, of the total 177 immigrants, 97 Venezuelan immigrant women (54.8%) reported being unemployed, making this group of women the population under study.

The variables considered were: age; relationship status; educational level; occupational profile; migration status now; identity document attesting to their regular immigration status; length of time living in the place; in which area do you currently live; with whom do you currently live; if accompanied, with whom do you live; head of household; year you migrated from Venezuela; how long have you been unemployed; time you worked in the last job you had during your migration process; reason for unemployment; have you ever been denied a job; reasons for which she considers she was denied a job.

We performed a multidimensional analysis (Pérez López 2008) of the profiles of unemployed immigrant women in the border municipalities of Colombia.

Given the multidimensional nature and categorical distribution of the variables under study, multivariate multiple correspondence analysis based on optimal scaling was used to reduce dimensionality and determine joint interdependence relationships (Pérez López 2008; Meulman et al. 2010). To determine the clusters or profiles, the K-means unsupervised clustering data mining algorithm was used, which consists of grouping observations into k groups based on their characteristics, minimising the sum of distances between each object and the centroid of its group or cluster that are as homogeneous as possible and as heterogeneous as possible between groups (Pérez López 2008).

The statistical procedures were carried out using the multiple correspondence module and the K-means classification module developed by the Leiden SPSS Group of the statistical analysis package Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (International Business Machines Corporation 2020).

4. Data

Study Variables

Table 1. Distribution of unemployed Venezuelan migrant women by study variables.

Variable	Category	n	%
Age	18–29 years	40	41.2
	30–35 years	15	15.5
	36–47 years	27	27.8
	48–61 years	6	6.2
	More than 61 years	9	9.3
Relationship status	Married	18	18.6
	Divorced	7	7.2
	Single	43	44.3
	Joined	24	24.7
	Widowed from union or marriage	5	5.2
Educational level	Completed bachelor’s degree	38	39.2
	Incomplete high school	29	29.9
	Primary school completed	4	4.1
	Incomplete primary school	11	11.3
	Higher university technical	5	5.2
	University	10	10.3
Occupational profile	Elementary occupation	13	13.4
	Journeyman and craftsman in the mechanical and other trades	4	4.1
	Administrative support staff	2	2.1
	Scientific and intellectual professional	3	3.1
	Technical and professional intermediate level	4	4.1
	Service worker	30	30.9
	Trade and market vendor	41	42.3
Migration status now?	Irregular	24	24.7
	Regular with permission	60	61.9
	Regular refugee	3	3.1
	Regular resident	10	10.3
Does your identity document support your regular immigration status?	Certification of the Sole Registry of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia (RUMV)	44	45.4
	Identification document issued by the host country	13	13.4
	No regularisation document	5	5.2
	Another	7	7.2
	Expired passport	3	3.1
	Valid passport	1	1.0
	None (Irregular)	24	24.7
How long have you been living here?	Between 1 year and 2 years	13	13.4
	Between 2 years and 3 years	23	23.7
	Between 3 years and 4 years	21	21.6
	Between 4 years and 5 years	20	20.6
	Between 6 months and 1 year	7	7.2
	More than 5 years	13	13.4
In which area do you currently live?	Rural	25	25.8
	Urban	66	68.0
	Urban–Rural	6	6.2
With whom do you currently live?	Accompanied	94	96.9
	Alone	3	3.1
If accompanied, with whom do you live?	With the family group	36	38.3
	Partner	27	28.7
	Partner, Child	23	24.5
	A relative	4	4.3
	Son/Daughter	3	3.2
	Friend	1	1.1
Head of household?	Yes	66	70.2
	No	28	29.8
Year you migrated from Venezuela?	2016	8	8.4
	2017	16	16.8
	2018	25	26.3
	2019	27	28.4
	2020	10	10.5
	2021	9	9.5
How long have you been unemployed?	0–3 months	30	30.9
	4–6 months	11	11.3
	7–9 months	6	6.2
	10–12 months	12	12.4
	more than 12 months	38	39.2
How long did you work in the last job you had during your migration process?	0–3 months	32	33.0
	4–6 months	21	21.6
	7–9 months	10	10.3
	10–12 months	11	11.3
	more than 12 months	23	23.7
For what reason are you unemployed?	For being found irregular (without documents)	24	29.6
	No jobs since the pandemic began	24	29.6
	I have no network of friends or acquaintances to help me find a job.	14	17.3
	Because I’ve been sick since I arrived	10	12.3
	Others	9	11.1
	I don’t know where to get information about job vacancies.	8	9.9
Have you ever been denied a job?	Yes	74	76.3
	No	23	23.7
Do you consider that you were denied a job because of	Being a migrant or foreigner	39	52.7
	Not having documents	27	36.5
	Your age	22	29.7
	Large amount of competition (labour supply)	13	17.6
	Not having experience	9	12.2
	Your gender	4	5.4
	Your skin colour	1	1.4

Source: Prepared by the authors.

presents the distribution of proportions of the variables corresponding to unemployed Venezuelan migrant women (n = 97).

5. Results

5.1. Multiple Correspondence Analysis

To reduce dimensionality and determine joint interdependence relationships, we applied the multivariate multiple correspondence analysis model via optimal scaling. The model estimation summary is shown in

Table 2. Model summary.

Dimension	Cronbach’s Alpha	Variance Counted for
		Total (Auto Value)	Inertia	% Variance
1	0.788	3.825	0.239	23.862
2	0.739	3.253	0.203	20.314
Total		7.079	0.442
Stocking	0.765 a	3.539	0.221	22.143

^a Cronbach’s mean alpha is based on the mean eigenvalue. Source: Prepared by the authors.

. The variables of dimension 1 contribute 23.9% and those of dimension 2 retain 20.3% of the variance explained, yielding a total of 44.2%. The average Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is 76.5%, which shows that the models are within the reliability range of the application of the method.

Table 3. Discriminant measures.

	Dimension		Average
	1	2
Age	0.469	0.327	0.398
Reason she does not have a job	0.314	0.391	0.353
Reason for refusal to work	0.265	0.403	0.334
Identity document supporting your regular immigration status?	0.336	0.303	0.320
Migration status	0.273	0.277	0.275
Occupational profile	0.409	0.135	0.272
How long have you been living here?	0.278	0.237	0.258
Educational level	0.323	0.144	0.233
Year you migrated from Venezuela?	0.224	0.241	0.233
If you live with someone else, who do you live with?	0.183	0.238	0.210
Since when she has been unemployed	0.171	0.190	0.181
Relationship status	0.246	0.067	0.157
How long did you stay in the last job you had, during your migration process?	0.105	0.124	0.114
Head of household?	0.005	0.170	0.087
Have you ever been refused a job?	0.147	0.002	0.074
In which area do you currently live?	0.079	0.003	0.041
Total, assets	3.825	3.253	3.539

Source: Prepared by the authors.

shows the matrix of discriminant measures, presenting the contributions of the categories to each dimension. The variables with the highest and most significant saturations in the formation of dimension 1 are linked to sociodemographic factors: age, occupational profile, educational level, marital status, immigration status or documentation that supports their regular immigration status and the time that they have been living in this place.

Dimension 2 is explained using the variables that have the greatest impact: reason for denying work, reason for not having a job, whether a migrant is living with their partner or anyone else, the year of emigration from Venezuela, time since beginning of unemployment and whether the person is the head of the household. The following variables did not contribute variance to the model: whether a migrant has ever been denied a job and the place where she currently lives.

5.2. Cluster Analysis

To classify the study population into profiles of unemployed immigrant women, we used the K-means clustering technique (Pérez López 2008).

By applying the K-means technique to the two dimensions determined as a result of the multiple correspondence analysis, we obtained three clusters or groups. The distribution was as follows: cluster 1 with 33 entries (34.0% of the total), cluster 2 with 35 entries (36.1%) and cluster 3 with 29 entries (29.9%). Figure 1 shows the distribution of the clusters in the two-dimensional plane.

5.3. Profiles

Table 4. Distribution of study variables according to clusters.

		Cluster Case Number
		1		2		3
Variable	Category	n	%	n	%	n	%
Age	Total	33	34.0	35	36.1	29	29.9
	18–29 years	4	10.0	16	40.0	20	50.0
	30–35 years	5	33.3	3	20.0	7	46.7
	36–47 years	23	85.2	3	11.1	1	3.7
	48–61 years	0	0.0	5	83.3	1	16.7
	More than 61 years	1	11.1	8	88.9	0	0.0
Relationship status	Married	6	33.3	5	27.8	7	38.9
	Divorced	0	0.0	7	100.0	0	0.0
	Single	18	41.9	11	25.6	14	32.6
	Joined	7	29.2	9	37.5	8	33.3
	Widowed from union or marriage	2	40.0	3	60.0	0	0.0
Educational level	Completed bachelor’s degree	7	18.4	17	44.7	14	36.8
	Incomplete high school	15	51.7	5	17.2	9	31.0
	Primary school completed	1	25.0	2	50.0	1	25.0
	Incomplete primary school	4	36.4	3	27.3	4	36.4
	Higher university technical	2	40.0	3	60.0	0	0.0
	University	4	40.0	5	50.0	1	10.0
Occupational profile	Elementary occupation	5	38.5	7	53.8	1	7.7
	Journeyman and craftsman in the mechanical and other trades	4	100.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
	Administrative support staff	0	0.0	1	50.0	1	50.0
	Scientific and intellectual professional	1	33.3	2	66.7	0	0.0
	Technical and professional intermediate level	0	0.0	4	100.0	0	0.0
	Service worker	7	23.3	7	23.3	16	53.3
	Trade and market vendor	16	39.0	14	34.1	11	26.8
Migration status now	Irregular	10	41.7	0	0.0	14	58.3
	Regular with permission	16	26.7	31	51.7	13	21.7
	Regular refugee	1	33.3	1	33.3	1	33.3
	Regular resident	6	60.0	3	30.0	1	10.0
Does your identity document support your regular immigration status?	Certification of the Sole Registry of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia (RUMV)	11	25.0	24	54.5	9	20.5
	Identification document issued by the host country	3	23.1	6	46.2	4	30.8
	No regularisation document	1	20.0	2	40.0	2	40.0
	Another	5	71.4	2	28.6	0	0.0
	Expired passport	2	66.7	1	33.3	0	0.0
	Valid passport	1	100.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
	None (Irregular)	10	41.7	0	0.0	14	58.3
How long have you been living here?	Between 1 year and 2 years	0	0.0	8	61.5	5	38.5
	Between 2 years and 3 years	5	21.7	7	30.4	11	47.8
	Between 3 years and 4 years	13	61.9	4	19.0	4	19.0
	Between 4 years and 5 years	11	55.0	8	40.0	1	5.0
	Between 6 months and 1 year	0	0.0	1	14.3	6	85.7
	More than 5 years	4	30.8	7	53.8	2	15.4
In which area do you currently live?	Rural	9	36.0	11	44.0	5	20.0
	Urban	20	30.3	23	34.8	23	34.8
	Urban–Rural	4	66.7	1	16.7	1	16.7
With whom do you currently live?	Accompanied	32	34.0	34	36.2	28	29.8
	Alone	1	33.3	1	33.3	1	33.3
If accompanied, with whom do you live?	With the family group	14	38.9	18	50.0	4	11.1
	Partner	12	44.4	4	14.8	11	40.7
	Partner, Child	5	21.7	7	30.4	11	47.8
	A relative	0	0.0	3	75.0	1	25.0
	Son/Daughter	1	33.3	1	33.3	1	33.3
	Friend	0	0.0	1	100.0	0	0.0
Head of household?	Yes	28	42.4	18	27.3	20	30.3
	No	5	16.1	17	54.8	9	29.0
Year you migrated from Venezuela?	2016	4	50.0	4	50.0	0	0.0
	2017	8	50.0	5	31.3	3	18.8
	2018	14	56.0	7	28.0	4	16.0
	2019	7	24.1	11	37.9	11	37.9
	2020	0	0.0	4	40.0	6	60.0
	2021	0	0.0	4	44.4	5	55.6
How long have you been unemployed?	0–3 months	10	33.3	8	26.7	12	40.0
	4–6 months	0	0.0	6	54.5	5	45.5
	7–9 months	1	16.7	2	33.3	3	50.0
	10–12 months	4	33.3	4	33.3	4	33.3
	more than 12 months	18	47.4	15	39.5	5	13.2
How long did you work in the last job you had during your migration process?	0–3 months	9	28.1	14	43.8	9	28.1
	4–6 months	9	42.9	5	23.8	7	33.3
	7–9 months	2	20.0	3	30.0	5	50.0
	10–12 months	2	18.2	4	36.4	5	45.5
	more than 12 months	11	47.8	9	39.1	3	13.0
For what reason are you unemployed?	For being found irregular (without documents)	10	41.7	5	20.8	9	37.5
	No jobs since the pandemic began	13	54.2	9	37.5	2	8.3
	I have no network of friends or acquaintances to help me find a job.	2	12.5	10	62.5	4	25.0
	Because I’ve been sick since I arrived	1	7.1	5	35.7	8	57.1
	Others	7	70.0	1	10.0	2	20.0
	I don’t know where to get information about in job vacancies.	0	0.0	6	66.7	3	33.3
	For being found irregular (without documents)	0	0.0	4	50.0	4	50.0
Have you ever been denied a job?	Yes	24	32.4	23	31.1	27	36.5
	No	9	39.1	12	52.2	2	8.7
Do you consider that you were denied a job because of	Being a migrant or foreigner	12	30.8	7	17.9	20	51.3
	Not having documents	11	40.7	2	7.4	14	51.9
	Your age	6	27.3	14	63.6	2	9.1
	Large amount of competition (labour supply)	0	0.0	11	84.6	2	15.4
	Not having experience	2	22.2	4	44.4	3	33.3
	Your gender	1	25.0	1	25.0	2	50.0
	Your skin colour	0	0.0	0	0.0	1	100.0

Source: Prepared by the authors.

presents the distribution of the study variables according to clusters.

5.4. Characterisation of Profiles

5.4.1. Profile Type 1

This profile includes 34.0% of the unemployed women studied. In terms of sociodemographic factors, these women were aged between 36 and 47 years and most of them were single. In terms of educational level, they had not finished high school. In terms of work profile, they were saleswomen in shops and markets and, to a lesser extent, officers, operators and craftswomen. Regarding their immigration status, they were regular resident immigrants and had a passport (valid or expired) or another type of document and the certification of the Single Registry of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia (RUMV).

Regarding migration process factors, unemployed migrants had been living in the area for 3–5 years as most of them emigrated from Venezuela between 2018 and 2019; they lived in urban–rural and urban areas with their partner or family and most of them were heads of household. In terms of unemployment conditions, some had been without work for more than 12 months, and they had worked for more than 12 months in the last job that they held before migration. Participants stated the following reasons for being unemployed: being sick since arrival; lack of job opportunities since the outbreak of the pandemic and irregular immigration status (lack of documents). The women who had been denied a job at some point considered that this was because they were migrants or foreigners and did not have documents.

5.4.2. Profile Type 2

A total of 36.1% of the unemployed women studied belonged to this profile. With respect to sociodemographic factors, they were aged ≥36 years; their marital status was divorced, unmarried or widowed; and they had completed high school. This was the group with the highest number of higher university technical, with occupational profiles such as elementary occupation, saleswoman in shops and markets, and technicians and mid-level professionals. Regarding the immigration status, most had a regular immigration status with a permit. Their documentation was supported by the certification of the Single Registry of Venezuelan Migrants in Colombia (RUMV) or the identification document issued by the host country.

In terms of migration process factors, they had lived in the place between 1 and 2 years since migrating from Venezuela between 2016 and 2019; this group comprised mostly unemployed women living in rural areas with their families and most of them were not heads of the household. Regarding unemployment conditions, these women had not worked for 4–6 months and more than 12 months, and they had worked for 0–3 months in the last job that they held before migration. They stated the following main reasons for unemployment: priority given to native citizens of the host country and lack of access to information about job vacancies. This group of women included the majority of unemployed women who had not been denied a job; those who had been denied a job considered that it was owing to the large competition (labour supply) and their age.

5.4.3. Profile Type 3

A total of 29.9% of the unemployed women in this study belonged to this profile. Regarding sociodemographic factors, most of them were aged between 18 and 35 years; most were married and they had completed their high school education. The occupational profile was that of a service worker. Regarding the immigration status, most had irregular immigration status and were without any documentation to support their immigration status.

In terms of migration process factors, this group of unemployed women had mostly been living in their place of residence from 6 months to 1 year and between 2 and 3 years; they lived in an urban area with their partner or partner and child; they were the heads of their household and they had migrated from Venezuela between 2020 and 2021.

Regarding factors related to unemployment conditions, the time for which they had been unemployed was between 7 and 9 months, and they had worked between 7 and 12 months at their last job before migration. They believed that the lack of networks of friends or acquaintances to help them find a job and lack of access to information about job opportunities were the main reasons for unemployment. To this group belonged those unemployed women who had been denied work due to reasons such as not having documents, their status of being migrants or foreigners and their gender.

6. Discussion

The results presented above, which show the three profiles found for the immigrant women studied, confirm the existence of the diversity of identities proposed by González-Rábago (2014) and, considering the ideas of Spencer and Charsley (2021) discussed in the theoretical foundation, the characteristics that were found influence the integration process, impeding or facilitating it; hence, in the interest of integrating the unemployed immigrant women studied, a set of actions that could contribute to their integration in structural, social, cultural and civic contexts is proposed on the basis of the characteristics of each of the profiles found for these women.

Accordingly, actions are proposed in the structural context that are linked to the participation of immigrant women in the labour market, education and the health systems. In the social context, the actions generated are related to social interaction, relationships and networks. For the cultural context, the actions that are proposed seek the existence of behaviours, attitudes, changes in values and lifestyles of the immigrant women involved in these social interactions. All of these proposed actions, when implemented, could lead to insertion in community life, democratic participation and consolidation of a shared identity integrated with a sense of belonging to the place where they live, understood as the community, the city, the department and the country.

6.1. Strategies for Profile 1

When considering the unemployment conditions in this profile, it is necessary to consider the psychosomatic effects on health (Franco-Vicario 2012), illness, anxiety or stress involved when migrants have not been employed for more than a year, when these migrants are heads of their household; thus, a programme to strengthen mental and psychological health in the structural context must be proposed.

In terms of sociodemographic factors, their age and their educational level, training for work is important so that migrants can learn to perform new tasks; further, regular immigration status facilitates their entry into programmes for migrants in various training courses as stipulated by the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (2022); in addition, regular immigration status can facilitate the creation of opportunities for entrepreneurship when accompanied by residence in urban and urban–rural areas, age factors and participation in commerce, markets, or crafts; these immigrant women can opt for financing programmes (credits) according to the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (2018, 2022). Therefore, the following are proposed in the structural context: training for work, promoting entrepreneurship in the trade and market sector or in the crafts sector and opting for financing programmes; and actions involving institutions of the host society that define the policies and the scenario where integration will take place, considering the legal, socio-economic and cultural spheres, as stated by Uldemolins (2017).

In view of the presence of women without documentation and in irregular working conditions, it is proposed that greater motivation towards regularisation be generated through publicity campaigns and the support of immigrant organisations; therefore, achieving this would require the creation of immigrant groups beforehand, which is related to the social context.

Regarding migration process factors, for women who have lived for 3–5 years in their place of residence with their partner, particularly in urban and urban–rural areas, sociocultural adaptation begins with the language, weather and food being similar to those that Venezuelans are accustomed to. These individuals require continuous and direct contact with native residents to reconcile with the norms, values and interactions of the new society (Spencer and Charsley 2021; Lőrincz and Németh 2022); therefore, actions are proposed in the cultural context such as the following: promoting sporting, gastronomic and cultural events, among others, with national residents and migrants from an immigrant organisation (third sector).

6.2. Strategies for Profile 2

In the structural context, rural entrepreneurship is seen as an employment possibility for people with this profile, taking into account their age, educational level, marital status, their occupational profile as shop and market vendors, their regular migratory status with a permit, their residence mostly in rural areas with their families, they’re not being heads of households, their performance in elementary occupations in rural areas, and the reason for their unemployment being the large labour supply, together with the priority given to Colombians. Therefore, promoting entrepreneurship in the rural sector is a proposed action in this structural context.

Also in this context, awareness-raising and/or sensitisation programmes could be organised for farmers or agricultural producers in the area for the inclusion of migrants in routine work related to crops and livestock or in aquaculture or fishing, where advanced skills are not required, and which would be consistent with the educational level of migrants as stated in the National Council for Economic and Social Policy (2018).

Likewise, given that this profile presents illness as a reason for not having a job, health assistance is proposed for immigrant women who are ill, access to which is currently only available to those in a regular migratory situation.

When considering women who have been out of work for more than 12 months in terms of unemployment conditions and given their regular status in terms of immigration conditions, it is important to assist these women with programmes to strengthen their mental and psychological health, as in the strategies for profile 1, within the structural context.

Moreover, the lack of access to information on job offers in terms of unemployment conditions implies a need for action within the structural context on the creation of means to disseminate this type of information, and the creation of an organisation to facilitate communication between immigrants and employers in the area to facilitate communication on existing employment opportunities, as stated by Barglowski and Bonfert (2022).

Furthermore, in profile 2, women living in rural areas had been living there for 1–2 years in terms of migration process factors. Their cultural adaptation has been related to language, climate and food, motivated by the ties of regional and border compatibility in cultural, social and economic terms, present between the inhabitants of both sides of the geographical space of this Colombian–Venezuelan border area (Sánchez 2011); however, in the cultural context, due to the lack of access to information on job offers, programmes that can help to establish connections with native citizens residing in the area are essential to ensure access to such information, or through courses on entrepreneurship where socialisation processes could be promoted among participants as expressed by Lőrincz and Németh (2022), thus leading to cultural integration.

Also in the social context, in order to facilitate the exchange of information, informal support and guidance in social integration, the creation of immigration organisations (third sector) is proposed, as proposed by Barglowski and Bonfert (2022) and Méndez and Fernández (2021).

6.3. Strategies for Profile 3

A high situation of vulnerability exists for this profile: irregular status of immigration; low educational level; occupational profile of a service worker; unfinished primary school education; being the head of the household; living with someone in an urban area and lack of a network of friends or acquaintances to help find a job. However, the human rights of these migrants must be guaranteed (De Lucas 2002). The regularisation of these workers with the support of migrant organisations (third sector) is therefore urgently needed and is therefore proposed in the structural context (Barglowski and Bonfert 2022); these organisations could provide women with advice on regularisation procedures and coverage of basic needs; facilitate their inclusion in support networks through which they can obtain information on job opportunities and propose training alternatives in some trades or tasks to advance their employability.

In terms of migration process factors, individuals who migrated in 2020–2021 were found to have already adapted to the language, climate and food of the destination, making their social integration more feasible (Lőrincz and Németh 2022); only those who migrated between 6 months and 1 year earlier were starting this process. In the structural context, the inclusion of these people in immigrant organisations (third sector) is proposed (Barglowski and Bonfert 2022) so that they can reach a certain level of integration in the face of the negative reception environment that may exist in the place where they are located, leading to marginalisation and discarding of opportunities according to (Scaramutti et al. 2023). Therefore, in the social context, the creation of migrant organisations (third sector) is proposed. Likewise, in the cultural context, if training for various trades or jobs is provided to native Colombians, better levels of cultural integration could be achieved (Lőrincz and Németh 2022; Spencer and Charsley 2021).

Thus, Figure 2 shows the strategies proposed for achieving integration for the three profiles of unemployed immigrants. Note that (1) if the implementation of this set of actions, set out in the three profiles found, is achieved, the goals of belonging and identity projected for the civic and political context proposed by Spencer and Charsley (2021) will be reached; and (2) both in the definition of the actions presented and in their implementation, there is a definitive role for the host society manifested by the institutions that define the policies and the scenario where integration will take place, considering the legal, socio-economic and cultural spheres as expressed by Uldemolins (2017).

7. Conclusions

This study considered interrelated socio-demographic factors, migration status, migration process and unemployment conditions, highlighting the diverse characteristics of unemployed Venezuelan immigrant women in the border cities of Cúcuta, Los Patios and La Parada, in order to adjust, according to these characteristics, integration strategies in the structural, social and cultural contexts for the three groups of emerging immigrant women.

Among the strategies emerging from the study, there are some that are widely applicable and which have already been presented in other studies, such as the creation of immigrant organisations (third sector), regularisation and accompaniment from immigrant organisations (third sector), promoting entrepreneurship, participating in funding programmes, health assistance and training for jobs; however, there are other actions that have been proposed in this research, taking into account the specific circumstances of the unemployed immigrant women studied, thus validating the theoretical framework on the link between heterogeneous characteristics of immigrants and strategies for their integration.

Among these proposed strategies are, in the structural context, awareness-raising and/or sensitisation programmes with farmers or agricultural producers in the area for the inclusion of migrant workers; in the cultural context, they include programmes to promote socialisation among participants through events with nationals residing in the area, providing information on available jobs or courses on entrepreneurship, and promoting sporting, gastronomic and cultural events, among others, with national residents and immigrants from a migrant organisation. All of these are presented in Figure 2.

Consequently, this study contributes to the generation of knowledge that facilitates the understanding of the migration phenomenon. The expected result was obtained: strategies for the integration of the immigrant women studied, considering the existing migration governance patterns in Colombia, the reality of the geographical space where unemployed immigrant women are found and the contributions of the authors cited in this study as evidenced in Figure 2. All of this (1) ratifies ideas about the diversity of immigrants, which is evident in the emergence of the three profiles of immigrant women found, and (2) uses ideas about integration as a process of events in multiple directions and dimensions, determined by the interaction between the immigrant person, the natives or nationals and institutions in structural, social, cultural, civic and political contexts, implying personal and social changes.

In the case of international migration, this study reveals that, by determining the profiles of those who are immigrants, through the use of clusters in the statistical process, it is possible to establish, considering the particularities of each profile, much-needed strategies for integration of this population. Specifically with regard to the Venezuelan migration phenomenon in Colombia, the proposed strategies may serve as a guide for officials and local governance agents responsible for the care and integration of unemployed Venezuelan immigrant women in Norte de Santander, avoiding exclusion from the range of roles they can perform, and offering them opportunities to be self-sufficient in their new society so that they can contribute to the growth and development of Colombia.

It remains for institutions such as the International Organisation for Migration, the Ministry of Labour and public or private entities involved in the governance of migration in Colombia to implement practices based on dialogue with the actors involved in the labour, social, cultural and civic inclusion of the Venezuelan immigrant population at the territorial level, in order to publicise the resulting strategies. However, at a global level, it is necessary to disseminate this study to support other investigations, considering the circumstances of the reality in which the migratory flow is adressed, both in terms of immigrants and in the spatial and transnational dimension.