Deporting the American Dream: Immigration Enforcement and Latino Foreclosures

Abstract

Over the past decade, Latinos have been buffeted by two major forces: a record number of immigrant deportations and the housing foreclosure crisis. Yet, prior work has not assessed the link between the two. We hypothesize that deportations exacerbate rates of foreclosure among Latinos by removing income earners from owner-occupied households. We employ a quasi-experimental approach that leverages variation in county applications for 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and data on foreclosure filings from 2005-2012. These models uncover a substantial association of enforcement with Hispanic foreclosure rates. The association is stronger in counties with more immigrant detentions and a larger share of undocumented persons in owner-occupied homes. The results imply that local immigration enforcement plays an important role in understanding why Latinos experienced foreclosures most often. The reduced home ownership and wealth that result illustrate how legal status and deportation perpetuate the racial stratification of Latinos.

Mass Deportations Would Impoverish US Families and Create Immense Social Costs

“…Authors Rugh and Hall (2016) conclude their study of the effects of deportations on the housing market on a cautionary note which is consistent with the analysis set forth in this paper:…”

“…For example, the adverse effects would likely spill over into the entire US housing market -about 1.2 million, or 23 percent, of the 5.3 million households that have undocumented residents have mortgages. In a recent study of the relationship between deportations and foreclosures, Rugh and Hall (2016) found that "unauthorized status leads to a chain of events from deportation, lost household income, foreclosure, and ultimately, lost wealth." Their analysis is the first to propose and detect the effect of immigrant deportations on Latino foreclosures.…”

Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement

“…suggests that local immigration enforcement increased Latino housing foreclosure rates (Rugh & Hall, 2016) and food insecurity and poverty in vulnerable families with children (Amuedo-Dorantes, Arenas-Arroyo & Sevilla, 2016, Potochnick, Chen, & Perreira, 2016Rugh & Hall, 2016).…”

Vanished Classmates: The Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement on Student Enrollment

“…However, the exact criteria that DHS used for determining which of these applications to approve are not specified publicly. In our data, which were acquired through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (Rugh & Hall, 2016) and public data sources, roughly a third of counties from which an application originated actually entered a 287(g) MOA. 5 While the evaluative criteria for approving these partnerships are unclear, at least one publicly available rejection notice cited concerns about the fiscal capacity of the local applicant to support immigration enforcement activities.…”

“…We examine these questions using county-year panel data from 2000 to 2011 when these partnerships first proliferated. Specifically, using data acquired from DHS through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (Rugh & Hall, 2016), we identify the counties in which a lawenforcement agency applied for an ICE partnership as well as those counties where applications were approved. We estimate the impact of ICE partnerships on Hispanic enrollment and other outcomes in "difference in differences" (DD) specifications.…”