DACA's Uncertain Path: How Policy Threats Reshape Economic and Social Gains for Recipients

Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes and Chunbei Wang

No 1617, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: Since 2012, DACA has provided deportation relief and work authorization to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. This study examines how legal and political uncertainty, triggered by the Trump administration's 2017 announcement to end the program, affected recipients' economic and social outcomes. Using difference-in-differences and event study methods, we find that gains in education, health, and geographic mobility largely persisted, while employment and income benefits eroded, particularly in nonsanctuary and high-enforcement states. However, strong local DACA networks helped buffer these losses. The results underscore how policy uncertainty can erode some gains while others persist in more supportive environments.

Keywords: DACA; undocumented immigrants; Trump; employment; health; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J15 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-mig
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:glodps:1617

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