Non-Citizen Offenders and Immigration Crimes: New Challenges in the Federal System

Demleitner, Nora V.; Sands, Jon M.

doi:10.1525/fsr.2002.14.5.247

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, it is possible that the citizenship effects observed above may differ for (or be driven largely by) immigration offenses. Immigration offenses are one of the most common offense types in the federal criminal caseload and account for almost 30 percent of annual federal criminal cases (Hartley and Tillyer 2012;Demleitner and Sands 2002). More importantly for the current analysis, noncitizens are particularly likely to be convicted on immigration charges (more than half of cases involving noncitizens).…”

Section: Multivariate Analysis Of Prison Sentence Lengthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Citizenship and Sentencing: Assessing Intersectionality in National Origin and Legal Migration Status on Federal Sentencing Outcomes

Koo

Feldmeyer

Holmes

2021

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: This study seeks to understand how national origin and legal migration status of noncitizen defendants in federal criminal courts shape incarceration and sentence length decisions. Method: The authors use annual United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) Monitoring of Federal Criminal Sentences (MFCS) datasets (2011–2016) to examine the impact of defendant’s (1) national origin and (2) legal versus illegal migration status on incarceration and sentence length decisions in federal criminal courts. In addition, in order to account for effects of immigration cases, supplemental analyses are conducted for (1) non-immigration offenses and (2) immigration-only offenses. Results: For the incarceration decision, noncitizen defendants have higher odds of incarceration than U.S. citizens, net of other factors. These effects are less consistent in the sentence length decision. These relationships systemically differ across national origin and legal migration status. Conclusions: Punishment disadvantages based on one’s citizenship are particularly pronounced for defendants from Mexico, Latin America, and Africa and especially for those with “illegal” migration status. As noncitizen populations continue to grow in federal courts and in the U.S. more broadly, understanding and addressing these citizenship disparities in punishment will be increasingly important.

show abstract

Section: Multivariate Analysis Of Prison Sentence Lengthmentioning

confidence: 97%

Citizenship and Sentencing: Assessing Intersectionality in National Origin and Legal Migration Status on Federal Sentencing Outcomes

Koo

Feldmeyer

Holmes

2021

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, because nearly 30% of federal cases involve immigration offenses, this caseload has a direct and significant effect on the number of individuals serving time in federal prison (Demleitner & Sands, 2002). Roughly 95% of federal defendants plead guilty and over 85% receive a prison sentence across all federal cases (Schmitt, 2009).…”

Section: Immigration Casesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defending the Homeland: Judicial Sentencing Practices for Federal Immigration Offenses

Hartley¹,

Tillyer²

2011

Justice Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the last decade, immigration prosecutions in federal court have increased 165%, with immigration offenses comprising over 28% of the federal criminal caseload in 2008. Despite this increase, research has yet to fully examine the sentencing outcomes for these offenders. Exploration of sentencing outcomes for immigration offenders is particularly salient due to the racial/ethnic composition of these defendants and the documented history of disparate treatment of minorities at this decision point. To explicate these issues, we examine the sentence length of immigration cases to assess the impact of legal, extra-legal, and case-processing factors. We further disaggregate by offense type to explore if correlates of sentencing are consistent across specific categories of immigration violations. Finally, we examine southwestern border districts, which process over 70% of all cases, to assess their specific sentencing practices. Model results, theoretical implications, and avenues for future research are also discussed.

show abstract

“…R. Johnson, 1996), suggesting the “immigration crisis” is actually one concerning ethnicity. In light of findings such as these, researchers are being urged to examine ethnic distinctions between citizens and noncitizens as sentencing outcomes may be an especially punitive response resulting from the intersectionality of their ethnic minority status and citizenship status (Demleitner & Sands, 2002; Wolfe et al, 2011).…”

Section: Extant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…During periods of economic hardship, the widening of employable residents via immigration is construed as a financial burden. These populations are further viewed as a drain on limited education, medical, and welfare resources (Citrin et al, 1997; Demleitner & Sands, 2002; Stacey et al, 2011). Thus, the identification of this population as dangerous legitimizes criminal justice intervention, allowing the cultural majority to reclaim control over access to economic, political, and cultural resources.…”

Section: Extant Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the resulting depictions of those entering the country are varied and often competing, the prevailing immigrant narrative is not a flattering one. Noncitizens are increasingly depicted as a danger to the economy, national security, and public safety (Citrin, Green, Muste, & Wong, 1997; Demleitner & Sands, 2002; Stacey, Carbone-López, & Rosenfeld, 2011). Among other stereotypes, noncitizens are often portrayed as inherently criminogenic, frequently associated with drug lords and mafia kingpins (Vaughn, Salas-Wright, DeLisi, & Maynard, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Equal Justice

Holland

2017

Criminal Justice Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Empirical analysis of the disproportionate application of carceral punishment has traditionally targeted race and class inequality while omitting noncitizens as a systematically disadvantaged population within the criminal justice system. Of the limited extant literature on this issue, nearly all have examined overall incarceration odds while failing to account for prison alternative eligibility, inaccurately measuring judicial discretion. Likewise, none have disaggregated noncitizens across nationality, an oversight that implicitly assuming that all noncitizens are equal recipients of discrimination, likely suppressing noncitizen disadvantage. Finally, these studies often fail to include contextual measures in their analyses. Using data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC)’s Monitoring of Federal Sentences from 1999 to 2013, this study examines case-, district-, and cross-level effects of citizenship status, documentation status, and nationality on incarceration odds, prison alternatives, and sentence length for federal drug offenders. The results of this study support the hypothesis that noncitizens receive more severe sentencing outcomes than U.S. citizens, Mexican noncitizens receive more severe outcomes compared to those from other countries, and undocumented noncitizens receive more punitive outcomes, though these findings vary across districts. However, counter to minority threat theory, noncitizen (offender) populations do not appear to influence incarceration outcomes for noncitizen offenders in the projected direction.

show abstract

Non-Citizen Offenders and Immigration Crimes: New Challenges in the Federal System

Cited by 8 publications

References 4 publications

Citizenship and Sentencing: Assessing Intersectionality in National Origin and Legal Migration Status on Federal Sentencing Outcomes

Citizenship and Sentencing: Assessing Intersectionality in National Origin and Legal Migration Status on Federal Sentencing Outcomes

Defending the Homeland: Judicial Sentencing Practices for Federal Immigration Offenses

Equal Justice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About