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U.S. Immigration Policy at a Crossroads

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  • Duleep, Harriet

    (College of William and Mary)

Abstract

Two issues have taken center stage in the recent debates about U.S. immigration policy: one, illegal immigration and more generally the entrance of poorly educated individuals into the U.S. economy and two, whether the U.S. should continue its family-based admissions system or move towards a skills-based system. This paper analyzes these issues culling evidence from the history of U.S. immigration policy, the experiences of different types of U.S. immigrants, and cross-national comparisons.

Suggested Citation

  • Duleep, Harriet, 2013. "U.S. Immigration Policy at a Crossroads," IZA Discussion Papers 7136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7136
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; illegal immigration; effect on poorly educated natives; entrepreneurship; human capital investment; skill transferability; opportunity cost; learning transferability; family-based admissions; permanence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J39 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Other
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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