The article “Ethical tensions of (im)migrants in the informal economy in the Global South” deals with a timely topic of the labour market insertion of Venezuelan immigrants in Colombia. Drawing on rich qualitative data, its findings challenge institutional (and also lay people’s) views on the migrant integration and labour market participation. According to the authors, migrants’ engagement in the informal economy should be seen as an attempt to exercise agency, an effort to preserve identities and values. This is in contrast to policies aiming at immigrants’ inclusion in the formal economy. Despite the sociological relevance of this article and its innovative methodological approach (combination of in-depth interviews with informal workers and analysis of song lyrics), there are some issues that should be addressed.

1. Habitus and cultural differences between migrants and host society
   It is quite impressive that the authors refer to perceived cultural differences between Venezuelans migrants and the host society. Some previous research has used the concept of habitus to talk about differences in job seeking strategies between migrants and the native population. Bauder (2005), for instance, has explored how immigrants from South Asia and the former Yugoslavia find jobs in the Canadian labour market that is characterized by different cultural practices in relation to migrants’ countries of origin. This is to say that Colombia can be considered a country belonging to the so-called Global South (as Venezuela does) and one may not expect significant differences in relation to the prevalence of informal economic activities in this country, and how these are perceived by people. Could the authors reinforce their point concerning the comparison between cultural practices in the Colombian and Venezuelan labour markets?
   Bauder, H. (2005). Habitus, rules of the labour market and employment strategies of immigrants in Vancouver, Canada. Social and Cultural Geography, 6(1), pp. 81–97.

2. Economic sector
   It might be interesting to know what is the economic sector in which research participants are employed. While songs may refer to (informal) employment and related values in general, could the authors explore the relevance of being employed in different jobs? Is it the same to talk about being employed as an informal street vendor and an informal agriculture worker? In addition, what is the previous jobs of research participants back home? Were they informal workers or not?

3. Time and temporalities
   Time and temporalities are important in shaping (migrant) workers’ engagement in the informal economy. Could the authors add this dimension to their analysis? For instance, is informal economy seen as something positive at the long term? Is something that enables easy money upon arrival?
   Suggested readings:
   Ruhs M and Anderson B (2009) Semi-compliance and illegality in migrant labour markets: an analysis of migrants, employers and the state in the UK. Population, Space and Place 16: 195–211
   Dimitriadis, I. (2022). Migrants and Undeclared Employment Within the European Construction Sector: Challenging Dichotomous Approaches to Workers’ Agency. Work, Employment and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211072777

4. Literature review:
   There is a well-established literature on migrant workers’ engagement in the informal economy that should be taken into consideration. The authors could significantly improve their findings by linking them to some of the following works:

Boels, D. (2014), “It’s better than stealing: informal street selling in Brussels”, International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 34 Nos 9-10, pp. 670-693.
Dimitriadis, I. (2022). Migrants and Undeclared Employment Within the European Construction Sector: Challenging Dichotomous Approaches to Workers’ Agency. Work, Employment and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170211072777
Portes A., Castells M., Benton L. A. 1989. The informal economy: studies in advanced and less developed countries, Baltimore–London: Th e Johns Hopkins University Press
Vianello FA and Sacchetto D (2016) Migrant workers’ routes to the informal economy during the economic crisis: structural constraints and subjective motivations. Prakseologia 2(158): 299–322.

1. Contextual information
   A non expert reader would benefit from a brief overview of immigration in Colombia and labour market integration programmes, as well as Venezuelan (enforced) migration. Given the irrelevance (?) of linguistic differences, can be Venezuelans’ formal skills and education easily recognized in Colombia?

2. Sample
   It would be very interesting that the authors add some reflections on how gender, education and age may shape people’s perceptions and practices. I do not find that reference to such variables would challenge participants’ anonymity.

3. Increasing numbers of immigrants
   The authors refer twice on the increasing number of migrants across the Globe. According to De Haas and colleagues (2020), although the number of international migrants has grown in the last decades, international migration has remained stable in relative terms when considering the percentage of migrants as a share of world population. I feel that the study of refugees’ and migrants’ labour market integration is scientifically relevant, regardless of the trends in migration flows.

de Haas, H., Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2020). The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World.

1. Immigrants and refugees

Another point concerns the distinction between migrants and refugees. The author use the term (im)migrant throughout the text. I suggest that the authors avoid using it; the use of terms “immigrants” or “migrants” or “refugees” may make the manuscript more fluid.

In this respect, it is important that the authors take into consideration research participants’ legal status. Although categories can include shortcomings, it is important to distinguish between migrants’ and refugees’ integration as: (a) refugees experience more difficulties than migrants in accessing the labour market (Federico and Baglioni 2021), b) The legal basis on which refugees gain access to residency status is a humanitarian one (international humanitarian law), c) in some countries, asylum seekers do not have the possibility to work in the formal economy as long as their asylum request is being processed.

Federico, V., & Baglioni, S. (2021). Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers’ integration in European labour markets: A comparative approach on legal barriers and enablers (p. 258). Springer Nature.

1. Conclusions
   The authors could add some reflections on the possible relevance of their findings across the global North.

The authors have addressed reviewers' comments successfully. This paper can be now published.