The Impact of Undocumented Immigration on ID Theft in the United States: An Empirical Study

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, identity theft constituted the number one consumer complaint in the United States in 2006. Using state-level data for the 50 states for 2005, we find, among other things, that the rate of reported identity theft per 100,000 population is directly related to the unemployment rate, the percent of the population residing in urban areas, and the extent of undocumented immigration. Of these variables, the undocumented immigration variable is by far the most important in terms of both weight and statistical significance. “But he that filches from me my good name/Robs me of that which not enriches him/And makes me poor indeed” (Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello, Act 3, Scene 3).