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Remittances and immigration enforcement

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  • Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes
  • Thitima Puttitanun

Abstract

Recent increases in U.S. immigration enforcement at the local and state level may be impacting remittance flows to developing countries by curtailing undocumented immigration, restricting the cyclicality of migration flows and limiting employment opportunities for the undocumented. We examine how the remitting patterns of Mexican migrants in the United States are being impacted by two types of immigration enforcement policies: police-based initiatives, such as 287(g) agreements and Secure Communities, and employment-based programs, as is the case with employment verification mandates. We find that increased enforcement reduces the share of migrants sending money home. However, legal migrants remitting money home increase their money outflows enough to offset any reductions in remittance payments from their undocumented counterparts. As a result, the average dollar amount remitted per Mexican migrant rises in the midst of increased uncertainty, safeguarding remittances as one of the least volatile sources of income in the developing world. Copyright Amuedo-Dorantes and Puttitanun; licensee Springer. 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Thitima Puttitanun, 2014. "Remittances and immigration enforcement," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-26, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:3:y:2014:i:1:p:1-26:10.1186/2193-9039-3-6
    DOI: 10.1186/2193-9039-3-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Taylor, J. Edward & Mora, Jorge & Adams, Richard H., Jr. & Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro, 2005. "Remittances, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence from Rural Mexico," Working Papers 60287, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    2. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Mazzolari, Francesca, 2010. "Remittances to Latin America from migrants in the United States: Assessing the impact of amnesty programs," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 323-335, March.
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    6. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Cynthia Bansak, 2012. "The Labor Market Impact of Mandated Employment Verification Systems," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 543-548, May.
    7. Marianne Bertrand & Esther Duflo & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 249-275.
    8. Genti Kostandini & Elton Mykerezi & Cesar Escalante, 2014. "The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on the U.S. Farming Sector," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 172-192.
    9. Vaira-Lucero, Matias & Nahm, Daehoon & Tani, Massimiliano, 2012. "The Impact of the 1996 US Immigration Policy Reform (IIRIRA) on Mexican Migrants' Remittances," IZA Discussion Papers 6546, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Arenas-Arroyo, Esther & Sevilla, Almudena, 2018. "Immigration enforcement and economic resources of children with likely unauthorized parents," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 63-78.
    2. Julia Shu-Huah Wang & Neeraj Kaushal, 2018. "Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement," NBER Working Papers 24487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Arenas-Arroyo, Esther & Sevilla, Almudena, 2016. "Immigration Enforcement and Childhood Poverty in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 10030, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, 2014. "The good and the bad in remittance flows," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-97, November.
    5. Rosa Weber & Douglas S. Massey, 2023. "Assessing the Effect of Increased Deportations on Mexican Migrants’ Remittances and Savings Brought Home," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-27, April.
    6. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Susan Pozo, 2023. "The widespread impacts of remittance flows," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-97, May.

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