Open Door Collective
The Open Door Collective (ODC) http://www.opendoorcollective.org is dedicated to reshaping U.S. society to have dramatically less poverty and economic inequality and more civic engagement and participation in all society has to offer. ODC is composed of a diverse group of stakeholders representing key domains such as adult basic education, health, criminal justice, immigrant rights, employment, and social services, who believe that adult basic skills and lifelong learning programs open doors of opportunity to healthier, more prosperous, and satisfying lives. We advocate for the inclusion of adult basic education, including English language, basic literacy, numeracy, high school equivalency, college readiness, and technology skills, as an integral part of a larger agenda of reducing poverty and income inequality, broadening civic participation, and moving us closer to the kind of society in which we all want to live.

The brief that follows is part of a series that is published by ODC. This brief defines and explains the notion of crimmigration, its myths and associations with poverty and education, and effects on human and social capital. The intended audience for the brief is immigration advocates, those serving immigrants in the criminal justice system, librarians, and related stakeholders. The brief recommends multiple solutions, drawn from the research literature, to reduce the impact and consequences of crimmigration.
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Understanding crimmigration means recognizing its growth

In order to understand crimmigration, it is important to know that U.S. rates of incarceration overall increased sharply in the 1980’s and remained high throughout the 2000’si. This “new era of mass immigration has also coincided with an era of mass imprisonment in the United States.”ii

Crimmigration, a term coined by Professor Juliet Stumpf of Lewis and Clark Law School in the early years of the 2000’s, describes the convergence of the systems of criminal justice and immigration.iii A focus on undocumented immigration “led to new laws and penalties, contributing to growing numbers” of immigrants being “detained, convicted, and sentenced to prison”iv. Many immigrants “face the taint of being undocumented, and popular immigration discourses frequently frame crossing the border without papers as equivalent to committing a violent crime.”v Advocates and allies of immigrant communities may question the usefulness of the term “crimmigration” and are challenged by assumptions made about immigrants on the basis of its broad use.

Key facts on the growth and challenges of crimmigration follow. Immigrants are increasingly arrested for lack of documentation – and for returning to the USA after being made to leave

❖ Immigration offenses increased from 2,453 cases filed in 1994, to 29,016 in 2010vi
❖ In 2010, non-U.S. citizens comprised 47% of suspects charged in U.S. district court [and] 26% of offenders in federal prison. Adults charged with immigration (88%) offenses were more likely to be detained prior to case dispositionvii; the number of immigration-related convictions in federal prison increased dramatically from 1994 to 2014viii
❖ According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the most common federal arrest offense in 2010 was undocumented immigration (46%),ix with 97% of defendants convictedx and sentenced to a median 15 months in prisonxi. Of immigration suspects arrested, “the most common immigration offense was illegal reentry (81%),”xii or adults arrested for simply trying to re-enter the USA after being made to leave earlier.

Mythology of “immigrant as criminal” spreads fear instead of facts about immigrants

The rapid rise in immigration has “led to salient fears among the U.S. populace about the effects of immigration on jobs, crime, social services, and U.S. culture.”xiii Merely by being an immigrant, a perceived “criminal” may be arrested for committing murder, having speeding tickets, or simply being undocumented.xiv However, the “perceived positive association between immigration and crime…is nothing more than a popular myth.”xv The mythology of “immigrant as criminal” is associated with “enforcement of immigration practices [targeting] immigrant men, often for minor infractions.”xvi

When those who are arrested go to trial, “the mainstream class or those who hold important or high-ranking positions such as judges may likely perceive noncitizens as a threat to the established order and reflect this perception in their decision making. Thus, it is not surprising to see rising concerns about a need for change in immigration matters among state legislators who are predominantly members of the middle or upper class.”xvii

“No convincing evidence shows, however, that compared with citizen offenders, noncitizen offenders are more blameworthy, violent-prone, likely to recidivate, or dangerous to the community.”xviii In fact, there is no evidence of growth in immigration being related to disparities in violent crimes committed.xix “A growing body of literature disputes the claim that immigrants are responsible for increases in violent and property crime…Indeed, studies have reported a significant, negative relationship between immigrants and crime rates.”xx  More immigration is actually associated with lower crime rates.xxi

Sentencing of immigrants: myth versus reality

A debate on sentencing asks: do judges mete out stronger sentences to immigrants based on the myth of “immigrant as criminal” or is sentencing lighter for immigrants than for native-born U.S. citizens? “Examining the effect of immigration on sentence length has important implications for understanding potential disproportionate treatment” of immigrants in the criminal justice system.xxii For those influenced by the myth, “immigrant defendants are believed to have higher levels of dangerousness” and so deserve “more severe sanctions.”xxiii Another study found that immigrant sentence length for immigration or property crimes increased in federal districts with large immigrant populations and high district crime rates, indicating a possible judicial perception of threat.xxiv

Other research on sentencing shows leniency in some circumstances and mixed treatment in others. One study, for example, shows that “Asian nationals receive prison terms and sentence discounts similar to those given to European/Middle Eastern, African, and North/Central/South American nationals.”xxv A Florida study found that Hispanic defendants were less likely to receive jail and prison sentences in counties where immigrant populations were rising, and immigration growth had no impact on sentence length.xxvi

Immigrant incarceration and differential sentencing impacts human capital – and hurts families

Some research claims that immigrants “fill the gaps created by the native-born workers in low and high-skilled occupations.”xxvii Undocumented immigrants are workers and consumers who contribute “more than $6.9 billion in sales and excise taxes, $3.6 billion in property taxes, and $1.1 billion in personal income taxes” to the economy.xxviii Research finds that “deporting 11.7 million undocumented workers” from the USA would “be a logistical impossibility” costing “billions of dollars.” Removing immigrants would reduce economic growth and job creation.xxix

When immigrants are incarcerated, the consequences impact not only immigrants but also their families, future employment, and communities. “Formerly incarcerated people cannot qualify for certain types of jobs or licenses or obtain some types” of housing and student loans.”xxx Immigrant incarceration “separates people from their families, communities, and support networks. Our nation loses workers and parents.”xxxi

Crimmigration has diverse impact on multiple ethnic groups, particularly Hispanic, black, and Asian immigrants with low incomes

The research literature describes a more diverse incarcerated population than popular media portrays. One way to describe the population of immigrants who are incarcerated is by ethnicity.
❖ Incarceration of Hispanics has grown the fastest of all ethnic groupsxxxii; by 2005, Hispanics made up 15% of incarcerated adultsxxxiii
❖ By size, most incarcerated immigrants in 2010 were born in Mexico or Central Americaxxxiv
❖ The incarceration rate for Cubans is proportionately higher with respect to their population than the corresponding rate for Mexicansxxxv
❖ “Noncitizens with a criminal record are overwhelmingly low-income people of color.” The percentage “of [non-Hispanic] black immigrants is significant…While convicted immigrants from Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Brazil make up only 12% of ICE removals, they typically spend more time in criminal incarceration” than Hispanic convicted immigrantsxxxvi
❖ “As a result of incarceration, many Southeast Asian Americans who are legal, permanent U.S. residents” are “3 to 5 times more likely to be deported” compared with adults in other immigrant communities.xxxvii

Reducing poverty and increasing education attainment can lower incarceration rates of immigrants

Strong predictors of immigrant incarceration are low income and education. National data “show strong associations between low levels of education and high rates of incarceration.”xxxviii About 25% of adult immigrants have less than a high school education, compared with 6% of native-born U.S. citizens.xxxix An even higher proportion (53%) of undocumented immigrants ages 18 to 54 has less than a high school education.xl

How did poverty and low education levels become connected with immigration and incarceration? A “growing demand for immigrants to fill mostly low-level job positions” brought immigrants into the USA.xli Many immigrants take “low-status jobs” because they lack verifiable documentation of their skills, “regardless of their educational backgrounds.”xlii As a result, immigrant adults are much more likely to “be working in the bottom-rung sectors of the labour force (44.8 to 30.5%).” Gaps in education “also shed light on the relatively high level of incarceration.” Because new immigrants “tend to have very low levels of education,” one study found “relatively more Hispanics” than white adults in the “high[-rate] incarceration group of those with less than a high school education. ”xliii

Potential solutions

Multiple solutions are offered by researchers, legal experts, and community leaders to reduce the impact and consequences of crimmigration:
❖ Offer education and job training to incarcerated and re-entering immigrants: Research indicates that providing immigrants with “job training and education during and directly after incarceration helps break recidivism.”xliv Where unemployment and a “lack of education and community resources are linked to high crime rates,” increasing education and employment may reduce crime.xlv Among immigrant populations, “education is key to the successful integration of communities”xlvi
❖ Expand English language offerings: Overall, 33 states reported offering correctional instruction in English language acquisition.xlvii An adult education administrator wrote, “first-generation [immigrants] would benefit from English language courses that are sensitive to their cultural and sociohistorical background.”xlviii English language instruction is not only a means for assimilating immigrants into U.S. society, it also provides a career skill that immigrants who are deported might be able to use in their home country and thus reduce the need to emigrate to the USA again
❖ Work with immigrants directly to revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods and to lower violent crime: Research suggests that immigration may revitalize neighborhoods and reduce violence.xlix “Immigrants may increase informal social control by emphasizing family structure and strengthening community institutions such as churches and schools. Second, influxes of immigrants into ethnic enclaves can invigorate local economies by stimulating job and wage growth through dense social capital networks.”l

In conclusion, a researcher noted “that agreement on pathways to citizenship for [undocumented] immigrants is not likely to be reached in the near future.” In the current political and social environment, the myth of “immigrant as criminal” remains. To counteract myths about and reduce poverty among immigrants, “attention should focus on how to alleviate the paradoxical impact and unanticipated consequences of crimmigration”.li Only then will immigrants, including the formerly incarcerated, be able to benefit from – and contribute to – the prosperity of their communities.
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This brief on crimmigration was authored by Margaret Becker Patterson with input from Janet Isserlis and William Muth from the Criminal Justice Reform issues group of the Open Door Collective.