Abstract
This article examines whether mass legalization programs reduce future undocumented immigration. We focus on the effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted amnesty to nearly 2.7 million undocumented immigrants. We report that apprehensions of persons attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally declined immediately following passage of the law but returned to normal levels during the period when undocumented immigrants could file for amnesty and the years thereafter. Our findings suggest that the amnesty program did not change long-term patterns of undocumented immigration from Mexico.
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We thank Gordon Hanson for providing the data on Mexican economic conditions and border enforcement. We also thank Bob Warren, Alan Viard, Jason Saving, and three anonymous referees for their helpful comments. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, or the Federal Reserve System.
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Orrenius, P.M., Zavodny, M. Do amnesty programs reduce undocumented immigration? Evidence from Irca. Demography 40, 437–450 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2003.0028
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2003.0028