Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume 115, Issue 5, 2018, Pages 939-944

A randomized controlled design reveals barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants (Article) (Open Access)

Hainmueller J.* , Lawrence D. , Gest J. , Hotard M. , Koslowski R. , Laitin D.D.
  • a Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States
  • b Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States
  • c Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Arlington, VA 22201, United States
  • d Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States
  • e Department of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, United States
  • f Department of Political Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States, Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6044, United States

Abstract

Citizenship endows legal protections and is associated with economic and social gains for immigrants and their communities. In the United States, however, naturalization rates are relatively low. Yet we lack reliable knowledge as to what constrains immigrants from applying. Drawing on data from a public/private naturalization program in New York, this research provides a randomized controlled study of policy interventions that address these constraints. The study tested two programmatic interventions among low-income immigrants who are eligible for citizenship. The first randomly assigned a voucher that covers the naturalization application fee among immigrants who otherwise would have to pay the full cost of the fee. The second randomly assigned a set of behavioral nudges, similar to outreach efforts used by service providers, among immigrants whose incomes were low enough to qualify them for a federal waiver that eliminates the application fee. Offering the fee voucher increased naturalization application rates by about 41%, suggesting that application fees act as a barrier for low-income immigrants who want to become US citizens. The nudges to encourage the very poor to apply had no discernible effect, indicating the presence of nonfinancial barriers to naturalization.

Author Keywords

citizenship Randomized controlled trial Naturalization Nudge Immigration

Index Keywords

immigrant Costs and Cost Analysis lowest income group economics cost poverty human statistics and numerical data controlled study priority journal randomized controlled trial nudge United States Humans migrant American New York Emigrants and Immigrants socioeconomics Article legislation and jurisprudence fee migration legal aspect Emigration and Immigration naturalization public policy citizenship
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85041200059&doi=10.1073%2fpnas.1714254115&partnerID=40&md5=928f143a0f3155f075c9c757ff7fc7f5
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1714254115
ISSN: 00278424
Cited by: 5
Original Language: English