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Illegal Immigration, State Law, and Deterrence

  • Mark Hoekstra
  • Sandra Orozco-Aleman
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 9, no. 2, May 2017
(pp. 228-52)
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Abstract

A critical immigration policy question is whether state and federal policy can deter undocumented workers from entering the United States. We examine whether Arizona SB 1070, arguably the most restrictive and controversial state immigration law ever passed, deterred entry into Arizona. We do so by exploiting a unique dataset from a survey of undocumented workers passing through Mexican border towns on their way to the United States. Results indicate the bill's passage reduced the flow of undocumented immigrants into Arizona by 30 to 70 percent, suggesting that undocumented workers from Mexico are responsive to changes in state immigration policy.

Citation

Hoekstra, Mark, and Sandra Orozco-Aleman. 2017. "Illegal Immigration, State Law, and Deterrence." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9 (2): 228-52. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20150100

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J18 Demographic Economics: Public Policy
  • J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
  • K37 Immigration Law
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