Does E-Verify Discriminate against Hispanics?

Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, San Diego State University
Susan Pozo, Western Michigan University

The ratcheting up of immigration enforcement has resulted in a number of unintended consequences featured in the news, such as family separations. We focus on yet another potentially unintended consequence -- increased employment difficulties faced by Hispanics legally authorized to work following the enactment of employment verification (E-Verify) mandates. Using confidential data from the 2002-2012 National Latino Surveys, we exploit the temporal and spatial variation in the adoption of E-Verify mandates to assess how they have impacted perceptions of discrimination in the labor market held by native and naturalized Hispanics who are clearly authorized to work. While E-verify mandates should not adversely impact their job prospects, these individuals could be hurt if some employers avoid hiring them for fear they might be undocumented. We believe the analysis will enrich our understanding of the collateral damage of increased immigration enforcement.