Do Amnesty Programs Encourage Illegal Immigration? Evidence from the IRCA

Pia Orrenius, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Madeline Zavodny, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

This paper examines whether allowing certain undocumented immigrants to legalize their status leads to additional illegal immigration. We focus on the effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted amnesty to almost 3 million undocumented immigrants. We find that apprehensions of persons attempting to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border declined immediately following passage of the law but returned to normal levels during the period when illegal immigrants could file for amnesty and thereafter. Our findings suggest that the amnesty program neither stimulated nor discouraged illegal immigration in the long run.