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Does Border Enforcement Protect U.S. Workers from Illegal Immigration?

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Author Info
Gordon H. Hanson
Raymond Robertson
Antonio Spilimbergo

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the impact of government enforcement of the U.S.-Mexican border on wages in the border regions of the United States and Mexico. The U.S. Border Patrol polices U.S. boundaries, seeking to apprehend any individual attempting to enter the United States illegally. These efforts are concentrated on the Mexican border, as most illegal immigrants embark from a Mexican border city and choose a U.S. border state as their final destination. We examine labor markets in southern California, southwestern Texas, and Mexican cities on the U.S.-Mexico border. For each region, we have high-frequency time-series data on wages and on the number of person hours that the U.S. Border Patrol spends policing border areas. For a range of empirical specifications and definitions of regional labor markets, we find little impact of border enforcement on wages in U.S. border cities and a moderate negative impact of border enforcement on wages in Mexican border cities. These findings are consistent with two hypothesis: (1) border enforcement has a minimal impact on illegal immigration, or (2) immigration from Mexico has a minimal impact on wages in U.S. border cities.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 7054.

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Date of creation: Mar 1999
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7054

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D20 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - General
F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. David Card, 1997. "Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows, and the Local Labor Market Impacts of Higher Immigration," NBER Working Papers 5927, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Godfrey, L G, 1994. "Testing for Serial Correlation by Variable Addition in Dynamic Models Estimated by Instrumental Variables," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(3), pages 550-59, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Borjas, George J & Hilton, Lynette, 1996. "Immigration and the Welfare State: Immigrant Participation in Means-Tested Entitlement Programs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(2), pages 575-604, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Randall Filer, 1992. "The Effect of Immigrant Arrivals on Migratory Patterns of Native Workers," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 245-270 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  5. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Lawrence F. Katz, 1992. "Regional Evolutions," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 23(1992-1), pages 1-76. [Downloadable!]
  6. Friedberg, Rachel M & Hunt, Jennifer, 1995. "The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 23-44, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. George J. Borjas, 1987. "Immigrants, Minorities, and Labor Market Competition," NBER Working Papers 2028, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Gordon H. Hanson & Antonio Spilimbergo, 1999. "Illegal Immigration, Border Enforcement, and Relative Wages: Evidence from Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico Border," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1337-1357, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. George J. Borjas, 1994. "The Economics of Immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1667-1717, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. George J. Borjas, 1987. "Immigrants, minorities, and labor market competition," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 40(3), pages 382-392, April.
  11. Borjas, G.J. & Freeman, R.B. & Katz, L.F., 1991. "On The Labor Market Effects Of Immigration And Trade," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1556, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
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  12. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Freeman & Kevin Lang, 1991. "Undocumented Mexican-born Workers in the United States: How Many, How Permanent?," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration, Trade and the Labor Market, pages 77-100 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Sengupta, Bonu & Hegde, Aaron, 2005. "Willingness to Pay for Legal Visas: A Case Study of Agricultural Workers in Southern California," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19235, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association). [Downloadable!]
  2. Mark G. Guzman & Joseph H. Haslag & Pia M. Orrenius, 2002. "Coyote crossings: the role of smugglers in illegal immigration and border enforcement," Working Papers 02 01, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Pia M. Orrenius, 2001. "Illegal immigration and enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border; an overview," Economic and Financial Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, issue Q I, pages 2-11. [Downloadable!]
  4. Epstein, Gil S & Weiss, Avi, 2001. "A Theory of Immigration Amnesties," CEPR Discussion Papers 2830, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Raymond Robertson, 2000. "Wage Shocks and North American Labor-Market Integration," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 742-764, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Manuela Angelucci, 2005. "U.S. Border Enforcement and the Net Flow of Mexican Illegal Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 1642, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  7. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "What are the consequences of an amnesty for undocumented immigrants?," Working Paper 2004-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  8. Raymond Robertson, 2006. "Globalization and Mexican labor markets," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, pages 61-80. [Downloadable!]
  9. ?gel Solano Garc?, 2004. "Does illegal immigration empower rightist parties?," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 614.04, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC). [Downloadable!]
  10. Robertson, Raymond, 2004. "Defining North American Economic Integration," North American Agrifood Integration: Situation and Perspectives, May 2004, Cancun, Mexico 16732, Farm Foundation. [Downloadable!]
  11. Maurice Kugler, . "Migrant Remittances, Human Capital Formation and Job Creation Externalities in Colombia," Borradores de Economia 370, Banco de la Republica de Colombia. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Gordon H. Hanson, 2006. "Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States," NBER Working Papers 12141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2001. "Do amnesty programs encourage illegal immigration? Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)," Working Paper 2001-19, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. [Downloadable!]
  14. Friebel, Guido & Guriev, Sergei, 2004. "Smuggling Humans: A Theory of Debt-Financed Migration," CEPR Discussion Papers 4305, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. repec:bep:eaptop:v:7:y:2007:i:1:p:1547-1547 is not listed on IDEAS
  16. Solimano, Andres, 2001. "International migration and the global economic order : an interview," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2720, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  17. Faria, Joao Ricardo & Levy, Amnon, 2003. "Illegal Immigration and Migrant Networks: Is There an Optimal Immigration Quota Policy?," Economics Working Papers wp03-08, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia. [Downloadable!]
  18. Prachi Mishra & Antonio Spilimbergo, 2009. "Exchange Rates and Wages in an Integrated World," IMF Working Papers 09/44, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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