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Title: Amnesty and the Safety Net: Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2017

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Abstract: We explore how immigrant legal status affects safety net transfers using variation from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which authorized the largest U.S. amnesty to date. Exploiting the timing and geographic unevenness in intensity of IRCAs legalization programs, we estimate a sizable effect of permanent residency on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) transfers. By contrast, we find null but imprecise effects of legal status on food stamp transfers. Fiscal costs are partially offset by increased state income tax revenues due to increased rates of income tax filing. These findings suggest that previous studies have understated the relationship between legal status and total family resources, particularly for families with children, and that legalization redistributes resources toward areas more affected by immigration.

Url: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~eucascio/cascio&lewis_amnesty_safetynet.pdf

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Authors: Cascio, Elizabeth U; Lewis, Ethan G

Publisher: Dartmouth College

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage, Migration and Immigration, Other, Poverty and Welfare

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