What drives the legalization of immigrants?: evidence from IRCA

Casarico, Alessandra; Facchini, Giovanni; Frattini, Tommaso

Abstract

We develop a model to understand the trade–offs faced by an elected representative in supporting an amnesty when a restrictive immigration policy is in place. We show that an amnesty is more desirable the more restricted are the occupational opportunities of undocumented immigrants and the smaller is the fiscal leakage to undocumented immigrants via the welfare state. Empirical evidence based on the voting behavior of U.S. Congressmen on the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 provides strong support for the predictions of our theoretical model.

Citation

Casarico, A., Facchini, G., & Frattini, T. (2018). What drives the legalization of immigrants?: evidence from IRCA. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 70, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2018.01.009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 29, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Mar 15, 2018
• Publication Date: May 30, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 29, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 16, 2019
• Journal: Regional Science and Urban Economics
• Print ISSN: 0166-0462
• Electronic ISSN: 0166-0462
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 70
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2018.01.009
• Keywords: Migration policy; Amnesties; Roll call votes
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/934534
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166046217302132