Arizona’s unauthorized immigrant population shrank after employers were required to verify workers’ legal status with the federal E-Verify system. The 2007 law also pushed a substantial number of unauthorized immigrants into self-employment. The study estimates that from 2008 to 2009 Arizona’s population of unauthorized immigrants of working age fell by about 17 percent, or about 92,000 people, as a result of the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA).
This research was supported with funding from the Russell Sage Foundation.
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Economy Jobs and Employment Population