Our recent graduate Ben Crouse has a fascinating new paper on SSRN entitled “Worksite Raids and Immigration Norms: A ‘Sticky’ Problem.”  Drawing on Dan Kahan’s theory of social norms, Ben critiques the government’s use of high-profile worksite raids as a tactic to deter employers from hiring illegal immigrants.  Here is a taste:

The government’s high-profile raids may encourage an anti-enforcement backlash, especially when accompanied by criminal prosecutions of employers and employees alike.  In fact, high-profile raids seem perfectly tailored to amplify anti-enforcement norms.  By coupling employer enforcement measures with large-scale criminal prosecutions and removal of immigrants, the measures arouse the anxieties of the Hispanic population.  By bankrupting large employers, the measures also jeopardize the economic future of the communities that depend on them.

As an alternative to an enforcement strategy built around a small number of high-impact raids, Ben proposes reforms that would result in a larger number of enforcement actions against employers, but with less draconian results for both employers and employees.  He would make it easier for the government to sanction employers who hire illegal immigrants, but also reduce the magnitude of the sanctions in many cases, which should diminish anti-enforcement backlash.

Ben’s paper won the Silver Quill Award earlier this year for being one of the top two students comments published in volume 92 of the Marquette Law Review.