Assessing Disparity in the Federal Court Processing of Immigration Cases

• In Event: Impacts of Race and Ethnicity on the Administration of Justice

Abstract

In recent decades, the number of immigrants entering the United States has rapidly increased, and the government has turned attention to the enforcement of criminal immigration law. Consequently, the number of immigration cases processed in U.S. federal courts has reached nearly 50% of all arrests and bookings and 34% of all federal sentencing cases. Despite the fact that immigration offenses form the largest category of primary offenses in federal courts, immigration cases are commonly removed from analysis due to their distinct nature. This is problematic since scholars have documented concerns over how immigrants are handled by the criminal justice system. Accordingly, the present study draws on the focal concerns perspective and uses the Federal Justice Statistics Program Data Series and other data sources to assess the relevant legal and extra-legal factors for the federal court processing of immigration cases with a specific focus on whether racial and ethnic disparity exists within these cases. Methods are consistent with a cumulative disadvantage approach where multiple decision points are considered and the effects of prior stages on subsequent outcomes. Findings will be discussed as well as implications for criminal justice policies, practice, and research.

Author

• Laura Owen Beckman, Arizona State University