The Association between the Foreign-Born and Latino Population and Federal Punishment Outcomes

• In Event: Immigration and Sentencing

Abstract

This analysis builds upon the emerging body of research on immigration and courts and sentencing outcomes in the federal criminal justice system. This study examines a series of punishment outcomes (likelihood of incarceration and incarceration length) for federal defendants convicted from FY 2005 to FY 2015, across 89 district courts. Drawing from court communities, focal concerns, and ethnic threat theoretical perspectives, the study tests for between-district variation in punishment outcomes, particularly whether outcomes shaped by changes in districts’ Hispanic population and foreign-born population. Furthermore, cross-level interaction models are estimated to determine whether the association between court outcomes and changes in the foreign-born population and the Hispanic population are conditioned by defendants’ legal status and ethnicity. The results and implications for punishment theory, research, and policy will be discussed.

Authors

• John Grube, Kansas State University

• Mario Cano, Kansas State University