Disrupting the Traffic Stop–to-Deportation Pipeline: The New York State Greenlight Law’s Intent and Implementation

Abstract

This article analyzes the traffic stop–to-deportation pipeline in New York State, how it harms children of immigrants, and how New York’s Greenlight Law seeks to disrupt it but has been hobbled by an implementation gap. It first establishes the phenomenon of the traffic stop–to-deportation pipeline by documenting how traffic stops are a key cause of deportations in New York State. Second, it analyzes how the pipeline harms (mostly US citizen) children of undocumented immigrants in New York State, who are more than 7 percent (more than 300,000) of New York State’s children. The pipeline makes these children fear and mistrust the police; harms their educational, social, and brain development; and consumes family income with the Mexican driver tax (costs incurred because parents could not get a driver’s license). Third, the article analyzes how the Greenlight Law should help remedy these harms, and how an implementation gap leaves many parents and children vulnerable to the pipeline. The implementation gap is partly due to the pandemic, but also driven by political and other factors that could be addressed by policy. Finally, the article analyzes how variation in implementing the Greenlight Law could leave the pipeline undisrupted and lead to unequal protection of the law by place in New York State. The article makes policy recommendations for stronger enactment to reduce the pipeline’s harms.

Advancing Publicly Engaged Sociology1

“…2021; Smith et al. 2021). More universities need such Centers, which improve the lives of people in the local community, give students concrete research experience and experience in the issues of working with institutions (Smith et al.…”

Addressing health inequities for children in immigrant families: Psychologists as leaders and links across systems.

“…Strained relationships or encounters with professionals (e.g., teachers, childcare workers, police, and personnel of youth organizations) can negatively affect CIF (Smith et al, 2021). Smith et al (2021) highlighted the detrimental effects of interactions during traffic stops in New York.…”

“…Strained relationships or encounters with professionals (e.g., teachers, childcare workers, police, and personnel of youth organizations) can negatively affect CIF (Smith et al, 2021). Smith et al (2021) highlighted the detrimental effects of interactions during traffic stops in New York. Police officers' racial profiling leads to "exploratory" stops of Latinx drivers solely as a pretext to ask about immigrant status (Armenta, 2017;Garcia, 2019).…”

“…For each socio-ecological level of Suarez-Orozco et al's model, we identify challenges impacting the well-being of CIF that psychologists should address. We also argue that this framework should be used to identify specific institutional laws, policies, or practices that appear "neutral" on their face, but which have negative effects given vulnerability of undocumented parents, such as profiling in racialized traffic stops (Armenta, 2017;Garcia, 2019;Smith et al, 2021).…”

“…Police officers' racial profiling leads to "exploratory" stops of Latinx drivers solely as a pretext to ask about immigrant status (Armenta, 2017;Garcia, 2019). These experiences leave children with psychological difficulties due to the trauma and stress of these experiences (Enriquez, 2015;Menjívar & Cervantes, 2016;Smith et al, 2021). One study documented that an immigration raid led to markedly higher levels of stress and poorer health for the entire Latino community in the county in which that raid occurred (Lopez et al, 2017).…”