Visa walls but porous borders: Venezuelan displacement, policy-induced irregularity and migrant integration in Peru

Wednesday, 4 November 2026, 5pm to 6pm

About this talk
How effective are restrictive immigration policies in deterring human mobility in contexts of large scale displacement and porous borders? What are their unintended externalities in terms of migrants' legal status and integration? And can subsequent regularisation programs reverse any adverse effects?

Professor Hammoud-Gallego will present his research into the effects of the sudden introduction of entry visas for Venezuelans by Peru applying regression discontinuity and difference-in-differences analyses. The research shows that the policy restriction led to increased irregular entries and negatively impacted Venezuelans' social, psychological, and economic integration. A subsequent regularisation program does not remedy these adverse externalities. In addition, he will discuss the mechanisms behind the causal findings through an original survey of Venezuelan migrants.

This study offers critical insights for immigration policy debates amid large-scale displacement in South America, highlighting the limited deterrence of entry visas and underscoring the importance of legal status for migrant integration.

About the speaker
Omar Hammoud-Gallego is Assistant Professor in Public Policy at the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. His research focuses on migration and refugee policies, as well as on the challenges to democratic legitimacy worldwide. He holds a PhD from the Department of Government at The London School of Economics (LSE). Prior to joining Durham, Omar was a Fellow in Political Science and Public Policy at the LSE School of Public Policy. He is currently an affiliated fellow at the IDRC Chair on Migration and Displacement at the Universidad del Pacífico, Peru, and has been a visiting fellow at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research.

Omar has worked or collaborates with several civil society organisations, such as the Migrant Democracy Project and The3Million, as well as with agencies of the United Nations, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Office on Drug and Crime, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. His personal website is: www.omarhgallego.com

The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall.
Registration not required.

Term: Michaelmas, Week 4

Series: Refugee Studies Centre Events

Venue: Queen Elizabeth House - Seminar Room 1
Seminar Room 1 Queen Elizabeth House 4 Mansfield Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX1 3TB United Kingdom

Department: International Development (Department)

Host: Refugee Studies Centre