THREE ESSAYS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND NONPROFIT RESPONSES TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON K-12 STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

Georgia and North Carolina have enacted particularly stringent laws restricting local “sanctuary” for immigrants and mandating cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Nonetheless, some counties use their limited autonomy to adopt practices designed to support immigrants despite state prohibitions. Government and nonprofit leaders craft unique solutions with the objective of blunting ICE enforcement. Two papers, Chapter 2 and 4, explore the relationship and influence of local government and nonprofit actors on education outcomes for those most affected by immigration enforcement environment, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged (ECD) students. Are education outcomes for these students better in counties that resist state anti-sanctuary laws or have immigrant-serving nonprofit presence? Do the actions of “resistant” counties or immigrant-serving nonprofits contribute to improved educational environments and results? To address these questions, Chapter 2 and 4 utilize data from the Stanford Education Data Archive as well as a novel county-level data set. Chapter 3 examines cross-sector collaboration dynamics between local government and nonprofit leaders in Atlanta and Charlotte, with qualitative evaluation derived from twenty interviews with Latinx-serving nonprofit leaders. Results from Chapter 2 and 4 do not link local government or nonprofit actions that are resistant to state and federal immigration enforcement policies, in support of immigrant communities, with improved Hispanic and ECD student outcomes. Chapter 3 presents evidence on the scale and scope of cross-sector collaborations between local government and nonprofit actors in Atlanta and Charlotte, illuminating what encourages and complicates cross-sector dynamics within these cities. The three papers explore the roles of local government and nonprofit actors on improving community environment and outcomes, benefiting not only the social and economic futures of immigrant communities, but society as a whole.