Deportations and Latino Segregation: The Residential Impacts of Interior Immigration Enforcement

The shift of immigration enforcement to local jurisdictions has intensified localized patterns of anti-immigrant sentiment, enabling the system of mass deportation to expand at an unprecedented scale. This study examines the effects of 287(g) agreements, which empower local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws, on Latino residential segregation. Using a quasi-experimental design that compares counties implementing 287(g) with those that applied but did not implement, we find that these policies significantly slowed declines in Hispanic-white segregation, particularly in early-adopting Southern counties where enforcement was most aggressive. We find no evidence that the program altered patterns of segregation for non-Hispanics. Our analysis suggests that these effects are driven by shifts in residential mobility and migration behaviors among Latino households, as enforcement amplified economic vulnerability, fear, and spatial isolation. By demonstrating how immigration enforcement disrupts Latino integration into residential communities, this study reveals the far-reaching consequences of these policies for racial stratification and neighborhood inequality in the United States.