Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

Mimicking Arizona’s goal of mass expulsion would be economically self-destructive to the California economy and the L.A. county economy. California went down that road in the early 1990s and accomplished nothing except to unleash a political backlash from the fastest growing demographic group in the state and nation. California should opt instead for the more forward-looking approach that puts all workers on a legal, even footing. That progressive strategy could serve as a costless stimulus to the economy that would improve the state’s fiscal balances.