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Key Findings

1. As of June 2015, all but 11 states had enacted one or more of the policies examined. Sixteen states had primarily restrictive policies, 14 had mostly unrestrictive polices, and nine had a mix of policies.
2. The most prevalent restrictive policy, adopted in 22 states, was the mandatory use of E-Verify for all or some subset of public and private employers. The most common unrestrictive policy, in effect in 20 states, was access to in-state tuition regardless of immigration status.
3. The six states with the largest populations of unauthorized immigrants had either unrestrictive policies (California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York) or a combination of restrictive and unrestrictive policies (Florida and Texas).
4. State-level policies might produce impacts in multiple domains and could have spillover effects on nontargeted populations. A cost-benefit analysis can assess the full range of potential impacts, both in the aggregate and for specific stakeholders.
5. Some expected effects of state-level policies can be clearly designated as positive, negative, or neutral for specific stakeholders. Other outcomes are less certain in terms of expected net benefits.
6. Few formal cost-benefit analyses of state-level policies have been conducted. Such analyses could support relevant decisionmaking.

In the past 15 years, faced with a lack of comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level, almost all states have moved to enact their own policies regarding unauthorized immigrants. These policies predominantly center on law enforcement, employment verification, higher education, driver's licenses, and public benefits.