Crimmigration and Inequality in a Federal Immigration Court

• In Event: Rutgers at 50: Problems of Racial and Social Injustice

Abstract

Rutgers University's location and humanitarian networks allow for documenting how the law and legal bureaucracies create and reproduce ethnic and racial inequalities. I assess qualitatively legal cultures and organizational practices in the heart of North Jersey at Elizabeth Immigration Court. By qualitatively studying the experiences of detained immigrants with criminal records, I aim to understand their challenges in navigating the legal system and the impact of interactions with court officials. Through remote ethnographic observation, I explore how state criminal law influences federal immigration decisions, revealing inequalities shaped by bureaucratic structures. The analysis highlights how judges shape risk profiles and legal outcomes, especially in early proceedings where lack of legal representation exacerbates vulnerability. I center the support networks that the University and other key organizations in the field are offering to immigrants experiencing legal violence in this bureaucratic setup. The outsized role of even minor criminal infractions on immigration outcomes and the lack of guaranteed legal representation are impacting disproportionally Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. I hope the evidence I present help build a more robust network of legal advocates for immigrant communities.

Author

• Lorena Avila Jaimes, Rutgers University - Newark