Department of Economics

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program benefits hundreds of thousands ofundocumented immigrant youths today. With the policy under threat of being rescinded, it iscrucial to understand how it has affected these young unauthorized immigrants in order tounderstand the potential consequences of ending such a program. In order to fully assess the effectsand possible incentives created by DACA, I use the program’s eligibility requirement to constructa sample of potentially eligible individuals. Using a difference-In-differences method, I analyzethe overall effect of this policy on different education and labor outcomes across different groups.I find that it has increased their likelihood of working by increasing the probability of entering thelabor force and decreasing the probability of being unemployed. I also find evidence ofheterogeneity across age and ethnic groups for some labor and educational outcomes. The resultsindicate that it incentivizes investment in education, at least at a high school level, whiledisincentivizing investment in higher levels of education for those who received the program at anolder age. Further evidence suggests that eligible individuals who received DACA at a youngerage are still more likely to invest in higher education at higher levels compared to those whoreceived it at an older age. From this, I conclude that it not only helps this group enter theworkforce but also partially increases investment in education thus creating a more capable andeducated workforce which benefits the economy as a whole.