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Latinas/os and US Prisons: Trends and Challenges

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Abstract

In the United States, the rate of incarceration increases on an annual basis. Communities of color – Latinas/os, African Americans and Native Americans, in particular – are the most affected by this alarming expansion of the US prison population. In recent years, Latinas/os have been identified as the fastest rate of imprisonment of all groups in the country. Like African Americans, Latinas/os emerge as trapped by the mass imprisonment phenomenon in the United States. This article examines the trends in incarceration for the US-Latina/o population, as distinguished from recent immigrants from Latin America, and it looks at some of the factors that contribute to the growth of the Latina/o population in state and federal prisons. The racialization of crime; the manner in which criminal justice policy is formulated and justified around the fear of crime; how the courts and the criminal justice system operate; and the role of the media in promoting negative images of Latinas/os are among the areas explored in discerning contributing factors. As with African Americans, common misconceptions linking Latinas/os with criminal behavior must be challenged. In contrast to African Americans, however, Latinas/os are subject to stereotypes that transcend racial myths, with one such stereotype being the false link between immigrants and crime. The fear of crime as a driving force in criminal justice policymaking and persistent negative media images of Latinas/os and immigrants that associate them with crime pose formidable obstacles to the implementation of long-overdue, meaningful, and sensible changes in the prison and criminal justice systems. Ultimately, comprehensive efforts to engage many sectors of society will be necessary to stem the trend toward increased Latina/o incarceration in the United States.

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Notes

  1. Data collected by the US Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics are cited throughout this article. The Bureau of Justice Statistics uses the US Census Bureau as its collection agent to gather information about the prison population in each of the 50 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005, 11). Unlike other data collected under four federally recognized racial categories (White, Black, Asian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Native Alaskan) used by government agencies, including the Uniform Crime Reports from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Prisoner Statistics program data includes “Hispanics” as a category in gathering information. While inconsistencies in the collection and use of the “Hispanic” designation occur state by state (Walker et al., 2007, 14–16), the Bureau of Justice Statistics data on the racial and ethnic composition of the prison system is considered among the most reliable information of its kind available and, therefore, it is used widely in criminal justice analyses.

  2. Both data consistently show African Americans and Latinas/os as having significantly higher incarceration rates than Whites. Why African American incarceration rates are higher than Latino requires further study and empirical analysis beyond the scope of this article.

  3. Human Rights Watch (2002, 1) based its findings on the US Census 2000 data on race, gender, and age of persons in all forms of confinement facility for the 50 US states. An explanation of the Census 2000's methodology can be found at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MetadataBrowserServlet?type=subject&id=GQ_USF1&dsspName=DEC_2000_SF1&back=update&_lang=en.

  4. cf. Act of April 30, 1855, ch. 175, § 2, 1855, Cal. Stat. 217; quoted in Haney López (1996, 145).

  5. Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County (64 F. Supp. 544, 549 (S.D. Cal. 1946), aff'd, 161 F.2d. 774 (9th Cir. 1947).

  6. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (2001, 12, Table 19) distinguishes between violent crimes, such as homicides and robbery, from nonviolent crimes, such as property offenses (e.g., burglary and fraud), drug offenses, and public-order offenses (e.g., immigration and weapons violations).

  7. Walker et al. (2004, 4) support this claim based on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2000).

  8. Walker et al. (2004, 4) cite Kamasaki (2002).

  9. Preliminary crime figures for January to June 2006 released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) show that violent crime rose 3.7% compared to levels for the first half of 2005, while property crimes for the same period dropped by 2.6% (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2006). Notwithstanding this recent spike in violent crime, violent crime rates today remain well below the rates registered in 1973, 1983, and 1993 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006a, 5).

  10. “The overall violent crime rate fell 58% from 51 to 21 violent victimizations per 100 persons age 12 or older between 1993 and 2005” (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006a, 5).

  11. As argued by Moran (1997), the “unique needs and characteristics” of US Latinas/os and immigrants from Latin America deserve increased consideration by government officials and policymakers. This author holds, as do Rumbaut et al. (2006), that this is true, but not at odds with an understanding of the ways in which Latinas/os and Latin American immigrants have been “racialized” in the US context, resulting in unjust treatment in the administration of criminal justice system and immigration policies and practices.

  12. Johnson (2003, 346) cites United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 US 873, 886–887 (1973), as the US Supreme Court precedent for making “Mexican appearance a relevant factor” in justifying a Border Patrol stop.

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Morín, J. Latinas/os and US Prisons: Trends and Challenges. Lat Stud 6, 11–34 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2008.1

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