U.S. immigration policy changes and children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone

Pia Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny

Economics Letters, 2025, vol. 255, issue C

Abstract: The number of child migrants illegally crossing the US-Mexico border reached record highs in 2019. After the federal government invoked Title 42 at the start of the pandemic, the US Border Patrol began expelling most border crossers back to Mexico. A court order, followed by a formal policy change by the Biden administration, exempted most unaccompanied child migrants from being expelled. We find this exemption resulted in significantly more unaccompanied child migrants, and the increase persisted after Title 42 ended.

Keywords: Illegal immigration; Unaccompanied minors; US-Mexico border (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 F22 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:255:y:2025:i:c:s0165176525003945

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112557

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