Uneven Migration Enforcement

Abstract

In the US, the weight of immigration enforcement falls disproportionately on immigrants from Haiti and Central America. How can we tell? I use deportations and immigrant population data to compare which origin countries account for an unexpectedly high number of deportations – after taking into account their share of the nation’s unauthorized immigrant population. These data sources help us see whether deportations by nationality are uneven. In recent years, immigrants from select countries of origin (especially Haiti and Central America) are overrepresented among deportees when considering each origin country’s contribution to the United States’ unauthorized immigrant population.