Immigration Law as Development Policy: Mexican Guestworkers and the H-2A Visa Program

Migration may be an important component of climate change adaptation, especially for residents of low-income countries. Individuals may migrate away as a coping mechanism in response to unforeseen and sudden environmental shocks, such as droughts, floods, or earthquakes. One key policy challenge is how to design migration options that will allow workers to access labor markets safely and legally. This project will study the poverty impact of providing rural Mexican workers living in highly climate-prone areas with a legal short-term seasonal work visa to live and work in the agricultural sector in the U.S. To that end, this RCT will evaluate the effect of the H-2A program on (1) guestworkers, (2) sending households, (3) agricultural workers in the U.S., and (4) broader communities in Mexico. We will track a sample of treated workers (those who receive an H-2A visa) as they move from Mexico to the U.S. and interview them in both Mexico and the U.S. We will also track a sample of control workers (those who do not receive an H-2A visa), interview them in Mexico, and follow up either in person in Mexico or remotely if they have relocated. We will collect respondent survey data on a series of outcomes relating to socioeconomic status, investment decisions, household consumption, migratory history, as well as experiences with climate change, crime/violence, and victimization.