Deeper into the Shadows: The Unintended Consequences of Immigration Worksite Enforcement

February 9, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the Immigration Policy Center releases Deeper into the Shadows: The Unintended Consequences of Immigration Worksite Enforcement by Jeffrey Kaye. This paper examines what happens to workers and their employers after an I-9 audit, and argues for worksite enforcement that is more targeted.

Before the onset of the Great Recession, immigrant labor was cited as a boon to the U.S. economy. In towns and cities across the country, immigrant labor - documented or otherwise - filled positions in growing businesses and industries where demand outpaced the supply of native-born workers. Since the onset of the economic downturn in 2008 and the rise in U.S. unemployment, some analysts and politicians - looking for a convenient scapegoat - have turned on that immigrant workforce and their employers, arguing that deporting eight million undocumented immigrant workers will create eight million new jobs for the native-born. This over-simplified equation ignores the complicated and interdependent roles that immigrants play in our economy. Only by overhauling our current immigration system and replacing it with one that meets the needs of the 21st century will we get past the hardships and quandaries Mr. Kaye so ably details in his report.

To view the special report in its entirety see:

Deeper into the Shadows: The Unintended Consequences of Immigration Worksite Enforcement by Jeffrey Kaye. (IPC Special Report, February 9, 2011)