The unintended consequences of US immigration enforcement policies

Significance Every day, thousands of immigrants in the United States are held in immigration detention under conditions that are no different than those facing the criminally incarcerated. Thousands of other immigrants are deported to their countries of origin without the opportunity to be heard before an immigration judge. US policymakers hope that these punitive enforcement policies will deter individuals from attempting to enter the United States without authorization. Yet this study of individuals in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico finds no evidence that such policies change their intentions to migrate to the United States. On the other hand, the survey analysis indicates that immigration detention may foster beliefs that the US immigration system lacks procedural and outcome fairness.