Proponents of “attrition through enforcement” would have you believe that, given the right conditions, unauthorized immigrants will choose to leave the U.S. and return to their home countries. The Myth of Self Deportation, by Alexandra Filindra, questions the assumptions behind the attrition strategy and concludes that self-deportation is not rational because unauthorized immigrants have invested too much in the U.S. to return home.

According to Kris Kobach, Mark Krikorian, Mitt Romney, Russell Pearce, and others, attrition through enforcement is simple: if the federal government ups its enforcement efforts—and if states and localities pass laws granting them additional immigration control responsibilities—and if the police, schools, employers, and state agencies check for proof of legal status, the costs and risks of staying in the United States will increase significantly for unauthorized immigrants. Faced with a high risk of being caught and imprisoned, “rational” unauthorized residents will “give up and deport themselves,” returning to their home countries rather than remaining in the U.S and risking capture, detention, and possible incarceration.