Esther Arenas Arroyo (WU Wien): Spillover Effects of Immigration Policies on Children’s Human Capital

Abstract:
We provide evidence for the negative spillover of immigration enforcement policies on children’s human capital. Exploiting the temporal and geographic variation in the enactment of these policies, we show that immigration enforcement reduces English skills of US-born children with at least one undocumented parent. Parents are less likely to enroll their children in non-mandatory preschool and reduce time spent on leisure and socializing, providing children with fewer opportunities to interact and learn from others. We provide evidence that exposure to immigration enforcement during early childhood lowers the likelihood of high school completion.