The Labor Market Effects of Immigration Enforcement

2022/06/06 by Chloe N. East, Annie Laurie Hines, Annie L. Hines +3 · 4 voices · 63 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Consumption (sociology) #Demographic economics #Economic growth #Economics #Employment and Welfare Studies #Enforcement #Immigration #Immigration policy #Job loss #Labor demand #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Labor relations #Labour economics #Law enforcement #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Political science #Secondary labor market #Sociology #Split labor market theory #Unemployment #Wage

paper · doi:10.1086/721152

published in Journal of Labor Economics 41(4), 957-996 (University of Chicago Press)

openalex publication_date 2022/06/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

We examine the labor market effects of Secure Communities (SC), a police-based immigration enforcement policy implemented in 2008–13. Using variation in implementation across local areas and over time, we find that SC decreased the employment of likely undocumented immigrants. These effects are driven not only by deportations but also by adjustments among immigrants who remain in the United States. Importantly, SC also decreased the employment and hourly wages of US-born individuals. We provide support for two mechanisms that could explain this decline in labor demand: an increase in labor costs that decreases job creation and a reduction in local consumption.

Cited by

• The Impacts of Unauthorized Immigration on U.S. Labor and Housing Markets: New Evidence from Administrative Microdata
• The Effect of Low-Skill Immigration Restrictions on US Firms and Workers: Evidence from a Randomized Lottery
• Secure communities as immigration enforcement: How secure is the child care market?
• The impact of Secure Communities on the labor market outcomes of immigrant women
• Immigration enforcement and the institutionalization of elderly Americans
• Temporary Fixes, Permanent Problems: Implications of the Growing Reliance on Liminal Status in U.S. Immigration Policy
• The effects of ongoing internal immigration enforcement on the US agricultural labor supply

Discussions

• My paper w/ @chloeneast.bsky.social, A. Hines, P. Luck & @hnmansour.bsky.social is now published in the Journal of Labor Economics! We study the labor market effects of Secure Communities, a policy [bsky, 109 points, 7 comments]
• Mass deportation under President Obama *reduced* the number of jobs available to US natives, primarily by slashing new business formation. doi.org/10.1086/721152 We can expect similar results from th [bsky, 58 points, 1 comments]
• and job losses across the entire economy: doi.org/10.1086/721152 [bsky, 8 points, 1 comments]
• Source: work by @chloeneast.bsky.social, @hnmansour.bsky.social, @andreavelasquez.bsky.social, & coauthors (doi.org/10.1086/721152) [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

Related

• The impact of Secure Communities on the labor market outcomes of immigrant women
• The effects of tougher enforcement on the job prospects of recent Latin American immigrants
• Does Immigration Enforcement Reduce Crime? Evidence from Secure Communities
• The Impacts of Unauthorized Immigration on U.S. Labor and Housing Markets: New Evidence from Administrative Microdata
• The effects of ongoing internal immigration enforcement on the US agricultural labor supply