Immigration enforcement can have negative consequences for Hispanic students’ test scores

What is it about?

Disruptive events, such as parental divorce, neighborhood violence, or relocation, can have a negative impact on children’s educational outcomes. We know less about how shocks resulting from immigration enforcement relate to the educational outcomes of children in targeted minority groups. The Secure Communities program has increased the risk of deportation and led to rising apprehension and insecurity among undocumented migrants and the wider Hispanic community in the US. This study assesses how the implementation of Secure Communities relates to the test scores of Hispanic students. Dynamic difference in differences show that the policy has a negative impact on Hispanic students’ subsequent English scores, with no impact on white and black students’ scores. In addition, Hispanic students living in the South, rural areas, and areas with high proportions of likely undocumented migrants are disproportionately impacted. Hispanic students in sanctuary jurisdictions, which reduce the likelihood of deportation, are not impacted.

Featured Image

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The findings show that immigration enforcement not only affects undocumented migrants through the direct risk of deportation, but also has unintended negative consequences for their children, most of whom are US-born and thus US citizens. In this way, policies such as Secure Communities can contribute to educational and social inequalities in the United States.

Perspectives