Immigration, Employment Opportunities, and Criminal Behavior

Abstract

We take advantage of provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which granted legal resident status to long-time unauthorized residents but created new obstacles to employment for more recent immigrants, to explore how employment opportunities affect criminal behavior. Exploiting administrative data on the criminal justice involvement of individuals in San Antonio, Texas and using a triple-differences strategy, we find evidence of an increase in felony charges filed against residents most likely to be negatively affected by IRCA's employment regulations. Our results suggest a strong relationship between access to legal jobs and criminal behavior. (JEL J15, J18, J61, K37, K42, R23)

Clicking on Heaven’s Door: The Effect of Immigrant Legalization on Crime

“…Distinguishing between economically motivated crimes (thefts, robberies, drug-trafficking, extortion, and smuggling) and purely violent crimes (murders and sex offenses), legal status only affects the former type of offenses. 36 This last result is consistent with previous evidence in Baker (2015) ;Freedman, Owens, and Bohn (2013);and Mastrobuoni and Pinotti (2015).…”

“…At the same time, the IRCA enforced stronger control over the hiring of undocumented immigrants, creating obstacles to the employment of those who were not legalized. Freedman, Owens, and Bohn (2013) focus on the implications of these additional IRCA provisions and document an increase in the felony charges filed against Hispanic residents of San Antonio, Texas, after the expiration of the amnesty deadline.…”

The labor market integration of refugees in the United States: Do entrepreneurs in the network help?

“…Couttenier et al (2016) even show that offering labor market access to asylum seekers eliminates the impact of asylum seekers on violent crimes. Similarly, Mastrobuoni and Pinotti (2015) and Freedman et al (2018) find that, when labor market opportunities for migrants improve once they are granted legal status, the risk of crime recidivism decreases.…”

September 11 and the Rise of Necessity Self-Employment Among Mexican Immigrants

“…Wang and Wang [2012] show that in response to the increased immigration crackdowns, Hispanic immigrants become more likely to marry a native after 9/11. Freedman et al [2018], utilizing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which provided amnesty to undocumented immigrants who have been living in the United States for a long period of time but also introduced employment sanctions to firms who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, find evidence that the undocumented immigrants who are likely negatively impacted by IRCA are more likely to resort to incomegenerating crimes such as selling drugs.…”