Paths to Mobility

A Longitudinal Evaluation of Earnings Among Latino/a Daca Recipients in California

Bibliographic Data

ID3756701
AuthorsC Patler (0000-0003-3469-6977, University of California, Davis, corresponding author), Jo Mhairi Hale (0000-0003-1343-3879, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK), E R Hamilton (0000-0002-1548-5018, University of California, Davis), Erin Hamilton (University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA)
Year2021
Volume65
Issue9
Pages1146-1164
Publication date2021-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764221996746
OpenAlexW3134300433
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited32

Undocumented immigration status is a structural barrier to socioeconomic mobility. The regularization of legal status may therefore promote the socioeconomic mobility of formerly undocumented immigrants. The 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provided protection against deportation and access to work authorization for eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. While studies using cross-sectional data find that DACA led to improved socioeconomic status, no studies have examined the socioeconomic status of DACA recipients over time and few have disaggregated among groups of DACA recipients. Drawing from one of the only longitudinal studies of DACA recipients, we use growth curve models to estimate individuals' wage trajectories from the year prior to DACA receipt up to 77 months post-DACA receipt among Latino/a DACA participants in California. In this sample, DACA is associated with improved earnings trajectories for recipients, compared with nonrecipients. Among DACA recipients, there is variation in earnings growth by stage of the life course, as measured by age and educational attainment. Notably, DACA tenure appears to be particularly beneficial for individuals who attain DACA at earlier ages and who earn college degrees. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of immigration laws and policies in structuring immigrant integration and socioeconomic mobility in the United States

Business · Demographic economics · Deportation · Earnings · Economic growth · Economics · Educational attainment · Higher education · Immigration · Political science · Population · Receipt · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Employment and Welfare Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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