Document Type
Honors Paper
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
The onset of the second Trump Administration saw a stark immigration policy shock in the U.S. with record numbers of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) detentions. This paper seeks to understand the labor market impacts of this immigration enforcement that have disproportionately affected the risk of being detained for non-white individuals. To estimate the effect of this policy shock, a triple difference model is used comparing non-white individuals to white individuals living in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with above or below average concentrations of immigration detentions before and after this immigration shock. The regression analysis finds that since the beginning of 2025, employment and labor force participation rates decrease by just over one percent for non-white individuals in MSAs with high rates of ICE detentions.
Recommended Citation
Letts, Rachel, "Labor Market Impacts of Immigration Enforcement: Evidence from the Second Trump Administration" (2026). Economics Honors Papers. 45.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/econhp/45
Included in
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.