Legal Status and Patterns of Family Visitation During Immigration Detention

• In Event: 478 - Section on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility Paper Session. Criminal Justice Contact and Inequality

Abstract

The population detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than doubled between 2001 and 2013, swelling to over 477,000 individuals. Despite this vast growth, few studies analyze the experiences of detained immigrants. We draw from one of the first studies of immigration detention in the United States, analyzing survey data from 565 noncitizens detained for six months or longer in California. Literature on criminal incarceration finds that family visitation helps maintain social ties, but that visitation is not evenly distributed. We analyze the predictors of contact and visitation with children during immigration detention. Results indicate that ethnicity, sex, the type of facility where detained immigrants are held, having dependent children, and children’s legal status substantially affect contact and visitation experiences. Findings suggest that the immigration detention system replicates experiences of criminal incarceration and is perpetuating inequality in immigrant communities.

Authors

• Caitlin Patler, UC Davis

• Nicholas Branic, University of California, Irvine