With the increasing discourse about a crime-immigration nexus and Latinos, it is critical to ascertain how the criminal justice system responds to noncitizen Latino defendants. Using federal sentencing data to investigate the role of national origin and immigration status on noncitizen Latinos’ sentencing outcomes, several findings emerge. First, national origin conditions the sentences received for Mexicans and non-Mexican Latinos. Second, immigration status perpetuates disparities among defendants within each Latino subgroup. Third, examining the aggravating factors within each immigration status category shows that national origin poses greater sentencing penalties for Mexican defendants.

This study examined court records, probation records, and collection office records in four counties in Pennsylvania, which were chosen because they varied along two dimensions: (a) population size and (b) the use of specialized units for the collection of monetary sanctions. From each county, restitution-eligible cases were sampled from both 1994 and 1996 to test the effect of a 1995 statutory change mandating restitution. Multivariate models indicated that restitution was significantly more likely to be ordered for property crimes, for offenses that were more easily quantified, for offenses against businesses, and for offenses after the statutory change. Moreover, restitution was more likely to be imposed and a higher percentage was likely to be paid in counties with smaller populations and in counties in which probation officers handled the collection of economic sanctions than in counties in which they were handled by specialized collection units.

The incremental benefits and costs of a rapid influenza A virus infection diagnostic service were studied in nursing homes in Calgary, Canada, during a single influenza season. The service was used to test 159 patients with suspected infection in a group of "experimental" nursing homes and results were compared with those for a group of "control" homes. An equal number of cases of influenza were identified in each group. Twenty-eight patients (17.6%) had confirmed cases, and 63 patients (39.6%) had probable cases. A rapid viral test result was provided much faster for patients in the experimental homes (P=.005). Both groups had the same median attack rate for influenza A virus. In experimental homes, the duration of the outbreak was shorter (P=.03), and the cost of laboratory testing and the total cost (less the hospital cost) tended to be lower (P<.2). The rapid testing service also tended to lower the overall use of resources.

The present study was an intragroup examination of noncitizen Latino drug traffickers convicted in the federal courts from 2006 to 2014. Drawing upon focal concerns theory and Sayad's state-centered perspective on the role of governments in framing the crime-immigration debate, this study assessed whether offenders' national origin conditions the effects of immigration status on the odds of receiving a downward departure (lenient sentencing) and the magnitude of the sentence discount imposed. Particular attention was paid to whether any effects worked to the detriment of Mexicans relative to non-Mexicans. The findings revealed that the effect of immigration status was contingent on offenders' national origin for the departure decision, but not the sentence discount. While being undocumented served to decrease the odds of a downward departure regardless of national origin, the effects were greater for Mexicans than for non-Mexicans. These findings indicate that contrary to the goals of the U.S. sentencing guidelines to reduce unwarranted disparities surrounding national origin, the current federal sentencing structure allows them to thrive.The 21st century represents a time of demographic shifts in the U.S. population. With this transition, Latinos rather than Blacks represent the country's largest racial/ethnic

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