EFFECT OF THE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT ON THE WAGES OF MEXICAN MIGRANTS

The extent to which the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1 986 affected the wages of Mexican workers in the United States is asse ssed using data collected from migrants in 13 Mexican communities as w ell as from out-migrants from those communities located in the United States. No evidence of selectivity bias in these data was found. Exami nation of changes in the wages earned by migrant household heads befor e and after IRCA's passage in 1986 indicated that IRCA had no effect o n the wages earned by Mexican migrants per se, but that it substantial ly increased the penalties accruing to undocumented status.