Life as an Undocumented Immigrant: How Restrictive Local Immigration Policies Affect Daily Life
Original Date of Publication:
2012 Mar
Life as an Undocumented Immigrant (click to view report)
Many studies have focused on the fiscal and economic ramifications of anti-immigrant legislation, but little work has been done on the harmful effects these laws have on everyday life in our communities.
This report presents one of the first studies of immigrants' responses to local restrictions and enforcement. It demonstrates that exclusionary policies and ramped-up federal enforcement inhibit immigrant incorporation into their communities. Immigrants react to legal threats and hostile reception by going underground: They hold negative perceptions of local law enforcement, associate routine activities such as driving and walking with anxiety and the risk of deportation, and develop strategies of avoidance and fitting in to mitigate the discovery of their unauthorized status.
Life as an Undocumented Immigrant (click to view report)
Citation:
García, A. and Keyes, D. (2012). Life as an Undocumented Immigrant: How Restrictive Local Immigration Policies Affect Daily Life. Center for American Progress: Washington, D.C.
Source Organization:
Other
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Public Education Institute at the The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.