The Effect of Prenatal Exposure to Restrictive Immigration Law on Infant Health
Co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation
Restrictive immigration law can have damaging effects on children even prior to birth. Recent findings suggest that SB1070, a punitive immigration bill passed in Arizona in 2010, had a substantial negative effect on birth outcomes of Latina immigrant women. Sociologist Florencia Torche will study the effects of an equally punitive immigration bill passed in Alabama in 2011 to assess generalizability of the effect of such laws on vulnerable populations. She will also examine the variation in the effects of such laws in states that differ in terms of the relative size of the Latina and immigrant populations.