Automated Expungement Policy and Immigration Outcomes

• In Event: Inequality, Discrimination, and Immigration Outcomes

Abstract

We describe a conflict of law problem that has arisen as criminal records are automatically expunged by states, making them inaccessible to immigrants who need access to their records in immigration court. This project uses public court observation, interviews, a survey with attorneys, and analysis of public immigration data to assess the potential scope of automatic expungement in states that have passed such legislation. We aim to understand whether automatic expungement has impacted immigration outcomes in a state that implemented such legislation several years ago and create a tangible resource for immigrants and their attorneys to understand their rights and opportunities to access their own data. Findings can directly shape state expungement policy by specifically recommending legislatively or administratively created data retention strategies or pathways to obtain expunged records, as well as impacting federal immigration policy by creating awareness amongst immigration judges and immigration courts that the loss of expunged data is at no fault of the non-citizen.

Authors

• Sarah Lageson, Northeastern University

• Lorena Avila, Villanova University