Hazleton and Beyond: Why Communities Try to Restrict Immigration

In Hazleton and Beyond: Why Communities Try to Restrict Immigration from the Migration Information Source, Kevin O’Neil of Princeton University has analyzed the types of immigration laws local governments considered between 2000 and 2009 and what prompted them to pursue such policies. Among his findings:

• Rapid growth in an area’s immigrant population was the best predictor of restrictive action. Once the percentage-point change in the foreign-born population share after 1990 is considered, the size of the immigrant population itself appears to be unimportant.

• About 107 US towns, cities, or counties have approved policies intended to regulate immigration or limit its effects on the local community, while 193 localities have seriously considered such policies. California and Pennsylvania had the largest number of restrictive policy proposals (22 each).

• The most common type of restrictive policies sought to control employment. These laws generally had the goal of sanctioning employers who hired unauthorized workers or imposing additional verification requirements on local employers and/or holders of contracts with the local government.

• Since 2007, localities have moved away from aggressive proposals modeled on the Hazleton, Pennsylvania law. Instead, they have implemented policies that brought less controversy or invited less constitutional scrutiny, and they have mandated use of federal government tools like E-Verify.

KJ