Unauthorized workers, because of their lack of legal status, have constrained opportunities in U.S. labor markets. We examine the determinants of occupational mobility for a sample of unauthorized Latino men who received temporary residency status under the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Estimates from mobility equations (for both upward and downward occupational mobility) show that English language ability, experience, the risk of being apprehended on the job, a realized apprehension, migrant networks, and the wage penalty for unauthorized workers all play specific and significant roles in mobility when working in unauthorized labor markets.
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