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The Effects of Enhanced Enforcement at Mexico’s Southern Border: Evidence From Central American Deportees

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  • Fernanda Martínez Flores

    (RWI – Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research)

Abstract

Immigration enforcement cooperation between final-destination and transit countries has increased in the last decades. I examine whether the Southern Border Plan, an immigration enforcement program implemented by the Mexican government in 2014, has curbed intentions of unauthorized migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to migrate to the United States. I use the announcement of the Southern Border Plan to implement a difference-in-differences approach and compare the evolution of short-run intentions to engage in additional unauthorized crossings of Central American (treatment group) relative to Mexican deportees (comparison group). The findings suggest that increased enforcement in Mexico decreases the likelihood of attempting repeated unauthorized crossings.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernanda Martínez Flores, 2020. "The Effects of Enhanced Enforcement at Mexico’s Southern Border: Evidence From Central American Deportees," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1597-1623, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:57:y:2020:i:5:d:10.1007_s13524-020-00914-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-020-00914-3
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    1. Roxana Guti'errez-Romero, 2022. "Violence in Guatemala pushes adults and children to seek work in Mexico," Papers 2212.12796, arXiv.org.
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    3. Roxana Guti'errez-Romero & Nayeli Salgado, 2022. "New trends in South-South migration: The economic impact of COVID-19 and immigration enforcement," Papers 2212.12797, arXiv.org.
    4. Roxana Gutierrez-Romero, 2022. "Violence in Guatemala pushes adults and children to seek work in Mexico," Working Papers 107, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.

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