Search Results
Briefing
Unauthorized Immigration: Evaluating the Effects and Policy Responses
Immigration has been the subject of intense debate recently in the United States and in Europe. Economists have studied unauthorized immigration to better understand what motivates immigrants to move and what effects they have on domestic workers and the domestic economy. Incorporating this research into a model suggests that centralized enforcement of immigration policies may be more effective than a decentralized approach.
Working Paper
The Effect of Undocumented Immigration and Border Enforcement on Crime Rates along the U.S.-Mexico Border
In the 1990s, the U.S. border led the nation in the decline of property-related crimes, while violent crime rates fell twice as fast in the U.S. as in the median border county. This paper asks how changes in undocumented immigration and border enforcement have played a role in generating these divergent trends. We find that while migrant apprehensions are correlated with a greater incidence of violent crime, they are not systematically associated with higher rates of property crime. Border patrol enforcement is associated with lower property crime rates but higher violent crime. ...