"Educational Impacts of In-state Tuition and Financial Aid Policies for Undocumented Students"
Abstract: In 2001, Texas passed the first in-state tuition and financial aid policy aimed at assisting undocumented students. Since then, over twenty additional states have implemented similar programs. This paper evaluates intended and unintended consequences of these programs by utilizing a two-way fixed effects difference-in-differences strategy. Using foreign-born non-citizen Mexicans as a proxy for undocumented status, I find a 9.6% and a 15.6% increase in college going-rates as a response to the adoption of in-state tuition and financial aid provisions. Despite the increase in college enrollment, there is no clear indication of higher completion rates either at the college or high school level. Although results varied across specific age groups, they were consistent to alternative robust methods. Lastly, some evidence of crowding out for native students is seen.
"State-funded Financial Aid & Educational Implications: Evidence from California’s DREAM Act"
Abstract: Every year, millions of college students in the United States fill out a FAFSA form to be considered for federal and state financial aid. These funds are given out to citizens and permanent residents typically based on merit or need, and international students are ineligible. Undocumented students also do not qualify and have been barred from receiving federal funds by the 1996 Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act. In response to a growing population of undocumented students, some states have adopted state-funded programs to provide these students with financial assistance for college. Using the adoption of California’s DREAM Act in 2011, this paper seeks to analyze the impacts of state-funded financial aid for undocumented students. I employ a synthetic control framework to estimate the program effect for foreign born non-citizen Hispanic (proxy for undocumented status) students with data from the American Community Survey. Synthetic control results show increases in college enrollment and high school graduation rates for undocumented California students. Other educational outcomes show promising synthetic control graphs but are prone to lack of power and precision, which may brought on by the small sample size of interest. Lastly, evidence of crowding out in terms of college enrollment is seen for Black U.S. citizen students.
"Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Hispanic Immigrants’ Labor Market"
Abstract: Since the last major immigration reform in 1986, the undocumented population in the U.S. has increased substantially, with approximately 11 million residents as of 2018. During the same period, the federal government has relied on the executive branch to carry out immigration agendas, which often differ drastically from one administration to next. The 2016 U.S. election cycle proved to be no exception, highlighted by the president-elect Donald Trump who made anti-immigration policy a cornerstone of his campaign. Using data from the Current Population Survey, this paper explores labor market outcomes of Hispanic immigrants (proxy for undocumented status) in response to immigration policy changes. Results from a nested logit model show Hispanic immigrants adjusting their labor supply by turning to self-employment in response to heightened risk of immigration enforcement. Furthermore, despite a decrease in the labor force participation rate, the unemployment rate did not see a statistical change.
"Comparison of ACS and CPS College Enrollment Measures and Implications on Estimates"
Abstract (extended): College attendance rates are much higher in the American Community Survey (ACS) than in the Current Population Survey (CPS). This is mainly due to the difference in reference periods between the two surveys. Specifically, the ACS has a reference period of 3 months while the CPS has a 1 week reference period. Consequently, a student during her summer break is likely to answer as “attending college” for the ACS, while the response is likely to be a “not attending college’ for the CPS. Additionally, interview practices, target population, survey sampling and frequency vary between the two, contributing to the difference. Using both the ACS and CPS, I replicate two studies that include college attendance as a variable of interest. Results show similar trends for college attendance although difference in levels remain. The gap in college attendance rates can be shrunk by utilizing various reference periods such as academic year instead of calendar-year. The adjustments push the CPS college attendance rates higher, closer to the ACS rates. Other measures of education (e.g., College degree) are much more comparable between the ACS and CPS. This suggests that the ACS measure of college attendance is closer to reality. However, ACS rates may be slightly overstated due to it failing to consider drop-out rates. Thus, usage of one or the other survey without knowledge of the gap may lead to potential bias in either direction, dependent on the survey and econometric method used. Ultimately, researchers should use both surveys - one as a reference to the other when measuring college attendance.