Effect of Recent Immigration Policy Changes to Defer Deportation of Illegals Brought into U. S. as Children

According to some reports, the effect of the recent shift in deportation policy for persons brought illegally to the U.S. as children will have little impact on employment. It may represent only about 8% more illegal immigrants working in the U.S., representing less than ½ percent of the U.S. workforce. While based on the age and criminal record criteria alone, as many 1.3 million persons might qualify, about half of them are under 18 and enrolled in school and others won’t earn high school diplomas, making them ineligible. It is estimated that only about half of those 650,000 between the ages of 18 and 30 will qualify who are available to work.

On the other hand, the deportation policy certainly has significant political ramifications, with the Hispanic vote now representing some 10% of the electorate, much higher in certain swing states. Further, the deportation policy may encourage others to cross the border into the U.S.