Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Legal status affects immigrants’ paths to integration in a variety of ways, across a wide range of activities and with varying degrees of intensity. In areas that are fundamental for integration, such as employment, access to higher education, social services and health care, legal status plays a significant role. In addition, the influence of legal status cuts across generations, with parents’ undocumented status in particular affecting the development of children, even when they are U.S. citizens.