Driving Towards Integration: Early Childhood Education Implications of Extending Driving Privileges to Undocumented Immigrants

We estimate the effect of granting access to driver licenses to undocumented immigrants on their offspring’s access to early childhood education (ECE). Using individual-level data from the ACS, we find that granting driving privileges to undocumented immigrants leads to a 6% increase in ECE attendance among Hispanic children with likely undocumented parents. We explore potential mechanisms and find that these laws enhance mobility, driving autonomy, and English proficiency among likely undocumented immigrants. These laws also increase hourly wages among likely undocumented mothers, which may increase their bargaining power and financial resources. The findings highlight the positive externalities of extending driving privileges to undocumented immigrants.