Abstract
The volume of immigration to the United States exceeds the amount of immigration to any other nation, but quantification must rely on measurement of population stocks. Comparison of foreign-born population figures for two or more survey dates reveal net immigration but fail to partition the foreign-born population by legal status. This analysis presents national survey data on the foreign-born population in November 1989 for comparison with an independently derived estimate of the legally resident foreign-born population at the same date. The demonstration of a measurable undocumented population residing in the United States is very helpful in evaluating the success of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Despite the legalization of 1.7 million aliens who provided evidence of undocumented residence since before 1982, and economic sanctions against employers found to hire undocumented workers, an undocumented population persists in the United States that appears to be largely composed of aliens from Latin American countries. Precise measurement of the size of this population is complicated by the uncertainties surrounding the population of approximately one million Special Agricultural Workers admitted under IRCA. The work and residence history of these aliens as well as their future labor sector experiences and residence patterns are not known. Despite efforts to stop undocumented immigration to the United States, undocumented migration, especially across the southern border, appears to have occurred at consistent levels throughout the past fifteen years.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bean, F.D., G. Vernez and C.B. Keely (1989).Opening and closing the doors': Evaluating immigration reform and control. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Bean, F.D., T.J. Espenshade, M.J. White and R.F. Dymowski (1990). Post-IRCA changes in the volume and composition of undocumented migration to the United States: An assessment based on apprehensions data, in: F.D. Bean, B. Edmonston and J.S. Passel (eds.),Undocumented migration to the United States: IRCA and the experience of the 1980s. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Bean, F.D., B.L. Lowell and L.J. Taylor (1988). Undocumented Mexican immigrants and the earnings of other workers in the United States,Demography 25: 35–52.
Borjas, G.J. (1988).International differences in the labor market performance of immigrants. Kalamazoo: W.E. Upjohn Institute.
Cornelius, W. (1990). Impacts of the 1986 US immigration law on emigration from rural Mexico sending communities, in: F.D. Bean, B. Edmonston and J.S. Passel (eds.),Undocumented migration to the United States: IRCA and the experience of the 1980s. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Fay, R.E., J.S. Passel and J.G. Robinson (1988).The Coverage of Population in the 1980 Census. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office (1980 Census of Population and Housing, Evaluation and Research Reports PHC80-E4).
Fullerton, H.N. Jr. (1987). Labor force projections: 1986 to 2000,Monthly Labor Review (September): 19–29.
Fullerton, H.N. Jr. (1989). New labor force projections, spanning 1988 to 2000,Monthly Labor Review (November):2–12.
Garcia y Griego, M. (1990). Mexico's policy issues after IRCA, in: Vernez (ed.),Proceedings of a conference on the international effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press.
Hoefer, M.D. (1990). Characteristics of aliens legalizing under IRCA. Revised version of paper presented at the 1989 annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Baltimore, Maryland.
Hollmann, F.W. (1990).Estimates of the Population of the United States by Age, and Race: 1980 to 1989. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office (Current Population Reports, Series P-25, No. 1057).
Immigration and Naturalization Service (1991a).Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (1991b). Provisional legalization, unpublished document. Washington, DC: Immigration and Naturalization Service, May 12, 1991.
Interpreter Releases (1989). Volume 66: 645–647 (June 19).
Interpreter Releases (1991). Volume 68: 1191 (September 16).
Martin, P.L. (1991). SAWs, RAWs, and farmworkers in California. Unpublished manuscript, dated November 10, 1989.
Martin, P.L. and J.E. Taylor (1988). Harvest of confusion: SAWs, RAWs, and farmworkers. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute (Program for Research on Immigration Policy,Policy Discussion Paper PRIP-UI-4).
Massey, D., R. Alarcon, J. Durand and H. Gonzalez (1987).Return to Aztlan: The Social Process of International Migration from Western Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press.
North, D.S. (1990). Looking back: Five aspects of the legalization program. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute (Program for Research on Immigration Policy,Policy Discussion Paper PRIP-UI-13).
Passel, J.S. and J.G. Robinson (1988). Methodology for developing estimates of coverage in the 1980 census based on demographic analysis: Net undocumented immigration. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census (Preliminary Evaluation Results Memorandum No. 114).
Passel, J.S. and K.A. Woodrow (1984). Geographic distribution of undocumented immigrants: Estimates of undocumented aliens counted in the 1980 census by state,International Migration Review 18: 642–671.
Passel, J.S. and K.A. Woodrow (1987). Change in the undocumented alien population in the United States, 1979–1983,International Migration Review 21: 1304–1334.
President's Report (1991a).The President's First Report on Implementation and Impact of Employer Sanctions. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
President's Report (1991b).The President's Second Report on Implementation and Impact of Employer Sanctions. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
President's Report (1992).Ten Years in America: A Report on the Aliens Legalized by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Forthcoming.
Rubin, R. (1991). Ten years after: Vindication for Salvadorans and new promises for safe haven and refugee protection,Interpreter Releases 68: 97–108.
Siegel, J.S., J.S. Passel and J.G. Robinson (1980). Preliminary review of existing studies of the number of illegal residents in the United States, unpublished paper. Washington, DC: Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy.
Thornburgh, D. (1989). Letter to Commissioner Alan C. Nelson, June 6.
Warren, R. (1990). Annual estimates of nonimmigrant overstays in the United States: 1985 to 1988, in: F.D. Bean, B. Edmonston and J.S. Passel (eds.),Undocumented migration to the United States: IRCA and the experience of the 1980s. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Warren, R. and E.P. Kraly (1985).The elusive exodus: Emigration from the United States. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau (Population Trends and Public Policy Occasional Paper No. 8).
Warren, R. and E.P. Kraly (1988). Long-term immigration to the United States: New approaches to measurement,International Migration Review 25: 60–92.
Warren, R. and J.S. Passel (1987). A count of the uncountable: Estimates of undocumented aliens counted in the 1980 census,Demography 24: 375–393.
Warren, R. and J.M. Peck (1980). Foreign-born emigration from the United States: 1960–1970,Demography 17: 71–84.
White, M.J., F.D. Bean and T.J. Espenshade (1990). The US 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act and undocumented migration to the United States,Population Research and Policy Review 9: 93–116.
Woodrow, K.A. (1990a). Estimating unknown immigration flows with the Current PopulationSurvey. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Woodrow, K.A. (1990b). Emigration from the United States using multiplicity surveys. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Woodrow, K.A. (1990c). Undocumented immigrants living in the United States.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. Washington, DC: American Statistical Association.
Woodrow, K.A. (1991a). Emigration from the United States: Multiplicity survey evidence. Unpublished paper.
Woodrow, K.A. (1991b). Project D5: preliminary estimates of emigration component. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census (Preliminary Research and Evaluation Memorandum No. 78).
Woodrow, K.A. (1991c). Project D2: preliminary estimates of undocumented residents in 1990. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census (Preliminary Research and Evaluation Memorandum No. 75).
Woodrow, K.A., J.S. Passel and R. Warren (1987). Preliminary estimates of undocumented immigration to the United States, 1980–1986: Analysis of the June 1986 Current Population Survey.Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association. Washington, DC: American Statistical Association.
Woodrow, K.A. and J.S. Passel (1989). Estimates of emigration based on sample survey data from resident relatives. Unpublished paper.
Woodrow, K.A. and J.S. Passel (1990). Post-IRCA undocumented immigration to the United States: An assessment based on the June 1988 CPS, in F.D. Bean, B. Edmonston and J.S. Passel (eds.),Undocumented migration to the United States: IRCA and the experience of the 1980s. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This paper reports the general results of research undertaken by Census Bureau staff. The views expressed are attributable to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Census Bureau.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Woodrow, K.A. A consideration of the effect of immigration reform on the number of undocumented residents in the United States. Popul Res Policy Rev 11, 117–144 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00125534
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00125534