Regularisation remains a strategic site for studying the political economy of migrant socio‐economic incorporation. Research suggests that immigrant regularisation policies improve labour market opportunities for undocumented migrant workers in host societies – particularly those engaged in the informal economy. However, research on regularisation remains focused on national‐level policy efforts, despite increased political activity by sub‐national levels of government on immigration issues across migrant‐receiving societies. This article identifies and examines local migrant labour market regularisations – a new political geography of labour market regulation – and explores the potential of these policies to influence labour market mobility and opportunity for irregular migrants in the US. Using data on 5,528 policy ordinances across 3,067 city, counties, and states, implementation trends across four local migrant labour market regularisation policy domains were analysed for the time period 2001–2014. Case studies of local‐level government activism within each policy domain are also presented. Findings indicate that the implementation of local migrant labour market regularisations in the US has become increasingly unfavourable towards migrant workers and that within these new political geographies, local governments are emerging as central actors in shaping migrant labour market opportunities. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications these new political geographies present for the economic incorporation of irregular migrants and their role in constructing a new scalar reality of migrant labour market regulation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.