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Fear and the Safety Net: Evidence from Secure Communities

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  • Marcella Alsan
  • Crystal Yang

Abstract

This paper studies how changes in deportation fear induced by the roll-out of Secure Communities (SC), a far-reaching immigration enforcement program, affected the demand for safety net programs in the United States. We estimate the spillover effect of SC on the take-up of federal means-tested programs by Hispanic citizens, who are not themselves eligible for removal. We find significant declines in SNAP and SSI enrollment, particularly among mixed-citizenship status households. The response is muted for Hispanic households residing in sanctuary cities. Our results are most consistent with network effects that perpetuate fear rather than lack of benefit information, measurement error, or stigma.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcella Alsan & Crystal Yang, 2018. "Fear and the Safety Net: Evidence from Secure Communities," NBER Working Papers 24731, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24731
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    Cited by:

    1. Alberto Ciancio & Camilo García-Jimeno, 2019. "The Political Economy of Immigration Enforcement: Conflict and Cooperation under Federalism," NBER Working Papers 25766, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Stefano Comino & Giovanni Mastrobuoni & Antonio Nicolò, 2020. "Silence of the Innocents: Undocumented Immigrants’ Underreporting of Crime and their Victimization," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1214-1245, September.
    3. Laird, Jennifer & Santelli, Isaac & Waldfogel, Jane & Wimer, Christopher, 2018. "Forgoing Food Assistance out of Fear: Simulating the Child Poverty Impact of a Making SNAP a Legal Liability for Immigrants," SocArXiv 6sgpk, Center for Open Science.
    4. Cascio, Elizabeth U. & Lewis, Ethan G., 2019. "Distributing the Green (Cards): Permanent residency and personal income taxes after the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 135-150.
    5. Xiaoning Huang & Neeraj Kaushal & Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2021. "What Explains the Gap in Welfare Use Among Immigrants and Natives?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(4), pages 819-860, August.
    6. Pia Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2021. "How Foreign- and U.S.-Born Latinos Fare during Recessions and Recoveries," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 695(1), pages 193-206, May.
    7. Brandyn Churchill, 2021. "E‐Verify mandates and unauthorized immigrants' health insurance coverage," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 88(2), pages 487-526, October.
    8. Jácome, Elisa, 2022. "The effect of immigration enforcement on crime reporting: Evidence from Dallas," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    9. Amanda M. Grittner & Matthew S. Johnson, 2021. "When Labor Enforcement and Immigration Enforcement Collide: Deterring Worker Complaints Worsens Workplace Safety," Upjohn Working Papers 21-353, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    10. Devesh Raval, 2020. "Whose Voice Do We Hear in the Marketplace? Evidence from Consumer Complaining Behavior," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(1), pages 168-187, January.
    11. East, Chloe N. & Velasquez, Andrea, 2018. "The Effect of Increasing Immigration Enforcement on the Labor Supply of High-Skilled Citizen Women," IZA Discussion Papers 12029, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Almuhaisen, Abdulmohsen & Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Furtado, Delia, 2023. "Immigration Enforcement and the Institutionalization of Elderly Americans," IZA Discussion Papers 16357, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Elisa Jacome, 2018. "The Effect of Immigration Enforcement on Crime Reporting: Evidence from the Priority Enforcement Program," Working Papers 624, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    14. Xiaoning Huang & Neeraj Kaushal & Julia Shu-Huah Wang, 2020. "What Explains the Gap in Welfare Use among Immigrants and Natives?," NBER Working Papers 27811, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Ali, Umair & Brown, Jessica H. & Herbst, Chris M., 2022. "Secure Communities as Immigration Enforcement: How Secure Is the Child Care Market?," IZA Discussion Papers 15821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Otsu, Yuki, 2021. "Sanctuary cities and crime," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 600-615.
    17. Bansak, Cynthia & Pearlman, Sarah, 2021. "Endogamous Marriage among Immigrant Groups: The Impact of Deportations under Secure Communities," GLO Discussion Paper Series 756, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Ro, Annie & Bruckner, Tim A. & Duquette-Rury, Lauren, 2020. "Immigrant apprehensions and birth outcomes: Evidence from California birth records 2008–2015," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • K37 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Immigration Law

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