Hostile Encounters - Exploring the Intersections of Immigration Status and Experiences of Biased Treatment Against Latinos

• In Event: New Directions in Research on Immigration and Victimization

Abstract

Despite their growing proportion in the U.S. population, the Latino population continues to experience biased crime and many forms of discriminatory treatments in their daily lives. Most existing literature tends to focus on victimization experiences that can be categorized as crimes. Little research is available about day-to-day hostile and biased treatment against Latinos, which are known to cause distress, fear, and other harmful outcomes. The current study aims to explore the intersection of immigration status and other covariates on reported experiences of racially biased treatment, and help-seeking behaviors among a sample of Latinos from three major U.S cities. The present study analyzed how immigration status of the 448 participants may have influenced their reported experiences of biased treatment. Logistic regression analyses revealed that acculturation, not immigration status, is a predictor of reported experiences of biased treatment. In addition to acculturation, education and past victimization of a hate crime were also significant predictors of biased treatment. The significant predictors for help-seeking behaviors were acculturation, age, education, and the experience of a hate crime.

Author

• Veyli Ortiz Solis, University of Maryland, College Park