Although justifications for a more restrictive U.S. immigration policy have increasingly relied on linking socially unacceptable behaviors such as welfare participation and illicit drug use with illegal entry, very few immigration impact studies separate respondents by foreign-born legal status. Applying a legal status prediction equation to 1994–1996 CALDUF data, this paper (1) estimates the relative level of illicit drug use (IU) among unauthorized Latino immigrant arrestees (ULIAs) in California and (2) investigates how individual-demographic and institutional-structural factors influence IU. ULIAs were underrepresented, with a smaller proportion testing positive for IU and having experienced or desired drug treatment. Regression results suggest (1) ULIA status had an independent negative effect on IU; and (2) higher earnings may have decreased, and public assistance recipiency and the percent of one's income obtained illegally may have increased, the likelihood of IU. We conclude by discussing implications for various policy instruments.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AkersR.L.KrohnM.D.Lanza-KaducoL.RadosevichM.1979Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 636–755.
2.
American Psychiatric Association1987Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (Rev. 3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.
3.
AmeyC.H.AlbrechtS.L.1998Race and ethnic differences in adolescent drug use: The impact of family structure and the quantity and quality of parental interaction. Journal of Drug Issues, 28(2), 283–298.
4.
AnglinM.D.PerrochetB.1998Drug use and crime: A historical review of research conducted by the UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center. Substance Use and Misuse, 33(9), 1871–1914.
5.
BeckerG.S.MurphyK.1988A theory of rational addiction. Journal of Political Economy, 96, 675–700.
6.
BernsteinJ.HoustonE.2000Falling crime rates in the 1990s: The role of the low-wage labor market. Unpublished paper. Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute.
7.
BoothM.W.CastroF.G.AnglinM.D.1991What do we know about Hispanic substance abuse? A review of the literature. In GlickR.MooreJ. (Eds.), Drugs in Hispanic communities (pp. 21–43). New Brunswick, NH: Rutgers University Press.
8.
BrownE.R.YuH.2000Latinos' access to employment-based health insurance. Paper presented at the Latinos in the 21st Century: Setting the Research Agenda, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, April 6–8.
9.
ButcherK.F.HuL.2000Use of means-tested transfer programs by immigrants, their children, and their children's children. In CardD.BlankR.M. (Eds.), Finding Jobs: Work and welfare reform (pp. 465–506). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
10.
CaseA.C.KatzL.F.1990The company you keep: The effects of family and neighborhood on disadvantaged youths. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper#3705.
11.
DuncanD.F.1988Epidemiology: Basis for disease prevention and health promotion. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co.
12.
DanilaB.AnnonJ.AnglinM.D.1997State demand and treatment needs assessment study: Dependence and abuse of alcohol and other drugs among California arrestees. Final report to the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. Los Angeles: UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center.
13.
ElsterJ.1999Introduction, In ElsterJ. (Ed.), Addiction: Entries and exits (pp. ix–xx). New York: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. ix–xx.
14.
FarabeeD.PrendergastM.AnglinM.D.1998The effectiveness of coerced treatment for drug-abusing offenders. Federal Probation, 62(1), 3–10.
15.
FarabeeD.WallischL.MaxwellJ.C.1995Substance use among Texas Hispanics and nonHispanics: Who's using, who's not, and why. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 17(4), 523–536.
16.
FiorentineR.1994Assessing drug and alcohol treatment needs of general and special populations: Conceptual, empirical, and inferential issues. Journal of Drug Issues, 24(3), 435–452.
17.
FiorentineR.1998Effective drug treatment: Testing the distal needs hypothesis. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 15(4), 281–289.
18.
FiorentineR.2000Toward an addicted-self model of cessation of alcohol and drug dependent behavior. Unpublished paper, Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center.
19.
FragomenA.T.Jr.1997The illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act of 1996: An overview. International Migration Review, 31(2), 438–460.
20.
García y GriegoM.1996The importation of Mexican contract laborers to the United States, 1942–1964. In GutiérrezD.G. (Ed.), Between two worlds: Mexican immigrants in the United States (pp. 45–88). Wilmington, DE: SR Books.
21.
GersteinD.R.GreenL.W.1993Preventing drug abuse: What do we know?Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
22.
Gil-RivasV.AnglinM.D.AnnonJ.J.1997Patterns of drug use and criminal activities among Latino arrestees in California: Treatment and policy implications. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 19(2), 161–174.
23.
GordonD.1994The return of the dangerous classes. New York, N. Y.: Norton.
24.
GreenwoodM.J.TiendaM.1998U.S. impacts of Mexican immigration, In Binational study: Migration between Mexico and the United States: Vol. 1 (pp. 251–394). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform.
25.
GrellaC.E.AnnonJ.J.AnglinM.D.2000Drug use and risk for HIV among women arrestees in California. Aids and Behavior, forthcoming.
26.
HamburgB.A.KraemerH.C.JahnkeW.1975A hierarchy of drug use in adolescence: Behavioral and attitudinal correlates of substantial drug use. American Journal of Psychiatry, 132(11), 1155–1163.
27.
HeerD.M.1996Immigration and America's future: Social science findings and the policy debate. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
28.
HeerD.M.AgadjanianV.HammadF.QuiY.RamasundaramS.1992A comparative analysis of the position of undocumented Mexicans in the Los Angeles County work force in 1980. International Migration, 3(2), 101–126.
29.
HeerD.M.PasselJ.S.1987Comparison of two methods for computing the number of undocumented Mexican adults in Los Angeles County. International Migration Review, 21, 1446–1474.
30.
HernsteinR.PrelecD.1992A theory of addiction. In LowensteinG.ElsterJ. (Eds.). Choice over Time. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
31.
HighamJohn. 1994Strangers in the land: Patterns of American nativism, 1860–1925 (3rd ed.). New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
32.
Hondagneu-SoteloP.1994Gendered transitions: Mexican experiences of immigration. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
33.
HserY.1993Population estimation of illicit drug users in Los Angeles County. Journal of Drug Issues, 23(2), 323–334.
34.
HutchinsonE.P.1981Legislative history of American immigration policy, 1798–1965. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
35.
JohnstonL.D.O'MalleyP.M.BachmanJ.G.1991Drug use, drinking, and smoking: National survey results from high school, college, and young adult populations: 1975–1990, Vol. 2. College students and young adults (DHHS Pub. No. ADM 91-1835). Rockville, M.D.: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
36.
KandelD.B.LoganJ.A.1984Patterns of drug use from adolescence to young adulthood: I. Periods of risk for initiation, continuation, and discontinuation. American Journal of Pubic Health, 74(7), 660–665.
37.
LoewensteinG.1996Out of control: Visceral influences on behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 65, 272–292.
38.
López-GarzaM.1999Study of the Informal Economy and Latina/o Immigrants in Greater Los Angeles,” In DiazD.Lopez-GarzaM. (Eds.), Asian and Latino immirgants in a restructuring economy: The metamorphosis of Southern California. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, forthcoming.
39.
MandellM.P.1999Community collaborations: Working through network structures. Policy Studies Review, 16(1), 42–64.
40.
MarcelliE.A.1999Undocumented Latino immigrant workers: The L.A. experience. In HainesD.W.RosemblumK.E. (Eds.), Illegal immigration in America: A reference handbook (pp. 193–231). Westport: Conn., Greenwood Press,
41.
MarcelliE.A.2002California in denial: A political economy of unauthorized Mexican immigration. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, forthcoming.
42.
MarcelliE.A.CorneliusW.A.2001The changing profile of Mexican migrants to the United States: New evidence from Southern California. Latin American Research Review, forthcoming.
43.
MarcelliE.A.HeerD.M.1998Unauthorized Mexican workers in the 1990 Los Angeles county labour force. International Migration, 35(1), 59–83.
44.
MarcelliE.A.HeerD.M.1998The unauthorized Mexican immigrant population and welfare in Los Angeles County: A comparative statistical analysis. Sociological Perspectives, 41(2), 279–302.
45.
MarcelliE.A.PastorM.Jr.JoassartP.M.1999Estimating the effects of informal economic activity: Evidence from Los Angeles County. Journal of Economic Issues, 33(3), 579–607.
46.
MasseyDouglas S.1985Ethnic residential segregation: A theoretical synthesis and empirical review. Sociology and Social Research, 69(3), 315–350.
47.
MullerT.1993Immigrants and the American city. New York: New York University Press.
48.
National Institute on Drug Abuse1991National household survey on drug abuse: Population estimates 1990 (DHHS Pub. No. ADM 91-1732). Rockvile, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
49.
O'ConnorA.2000INS memo calls gang allegations false. (March 31st). Los Angeles Times.
50.
OrphanidesA.ZervosD.1995Rational addiction with learning and regret. Journal of Political Economy, 103, 739–758.
51.
PaginA.1984Econometric issues in the analysis of regressions with generated regressors. International Economic Review, 25(1), 221–247.
52.
PasselJ.S.1999Undocumented immigration to the United States: Numbers, trends, and characteristics. In HainesD.W.RosemblumK.E. (Eds.), Illegal immigration in America: A reference handbook (pp. 27–111). Westport: CT: Greenwood Press.
53.
PastorM.Jr.DreierP.GrigsbyJ.E.IIILópez-GarzaM.2000Regions that work: How cities and suburbs can grow together. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
54.
SafferH.ChaloupkaF.1999The demand for illicit drugs. Economic Inquiry, 37(3), 401–411.
55.
SmithJ.P.EdmonstonB. (Eds.). 1997The new Americans: Economic, demographic, and fiscal effects of immigration. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
56.
SteinbergJ.GrellaC.MonahanG.1999Sexual abuse and HIV risk behaviors among female arrestees in California jails. Paper presented at the 1999 College on Problems of Drug Dependence Annual Meeting, Acapulco, Mexico, June 16th.
57.
VegaW.A.2000A profile of crime, violence, and drug use among Mexican immigrants. Unpublished paper, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. March.
58.
WallaceS.YuH.MendezC.BrownE.R.1998Adjusted estimates of uninsured children and program eligibility, California 1996. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Los Angeles.
59.
WarrenR.1997Estimates of the Undocumented Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: October 1996. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
