Annotated bibliography: criminalization of immigrants

This bibliography was created by Jennifer Stawski, a student at the University of Washington Bothell who is currently a senior in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences program.

The intended use for this bibliography is to provide resources that will help explore the conceptualizing of immigrants as criminals. In an effort to exclusively use the most recent research and views surrounding the immigration debate, I selected books and articles listed published after September 11, 2001. However, fear and suspicion of immigrants is a social anxiety which is not new to this country.

Date of completion: March 20th, 2008

------------ BOOKS ------------

Cole, David. (2005). Enemy Aliens: Double Standards and Constitutional Freedoms in the War on Terrorism . New York: New Press: Distributed by W.W. Norton.

Keywords: terrorist, civil liberties, moral panic, foreigners, human rights.

This book intends to build a case against trading the basic human rights of foreign citizens for an imagined sense of national security. It does this by using examples from court cases, text from legislation, official speeches, government reports and newspaper articles. Previous scholarly sources are cited as well. The author asserts that legislation has been enacted which undermines the civil liberties of citizens and non-citizens alike by playing on the moral panic created the 9/11 terrorist attack. Chapter 4 explores how the Patriot Act has redefined terrorism, adding guilt by association and ideological exclusion as basis for suspicion and possible deportation. Seven chapters are dedicated to the history of civil rights violation of citizens and non-citizens in the U.S.

David Cole is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who has practiced law, and defended the civil liberties and rights of clients and activists.

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Cole, David and James X. Dempsey. (2006). Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security . New York: New Press.

Keywords: national security, civil rights abuse, criminalization.            

This is the third edition of this book, originally written in 1999 and published in 2002. Much of the book looks at the history of government civil liberty abuses. The FBI investigations of the political activities of Central American activists, the Los Angeles 8, Amnesty International and Earth First are analyzed in the first section. Constitutional protection and the role of the Supreme Court in enforcing that protection is explored next, then there is an in depth look at the 1996 Antiterrorism Act. The last 5 chapters are dedicated to analysis of the effects of 9/11 and the Patriot Act. The authors use text from legislation, court cases, government reports and newspaper articles to illustrate what they contend is a deliberate movement towards the sacrifice of civil liberties of a minority of non-citizens and legal residents. Examples are given of people detained for months under harsh conditions without criminal charges. This treatment, as presumed criminals, was based on their associations and anti-American opinions. Preventative detention without criminal charges was justified by secret evidence and surveillance.

David Cole is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who has practiced law, and defended the civil liberties and rights of clients and activists.

James X. Dempsey is currently the Vice President for Public Policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology. Dempsey has testified before House Committee on the Judiciary on privacy and civil rights issues.

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Dow, Mark. (2004). American Gulag: Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons . Berkeley: University of California Press.

Keywords: detention centers, prison, deportation, human rights, immigrants, refugees, asylum.

This book is based on a collection of detainee, guard and INS staff interviews documenting the abuse of detainees held in the prison system created by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (now BICE). A background explaining the exponential growth of this prison system is included, as well as how the use of private prisons has created profits for private prison operators. Some of the detainees did have criminal convictions and were heading for deportation. However, many of the people interviewed were refugees seeking asylum and were being held in jails as if they were also criminals. The abusive treatment described in this source intends to illustrate how non-citizens have been presumed to be criminals.

Mark Dow lectures in English at Hunter College and the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

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Lee, Matthew T. (2003). Crime on the Border: Immigration and Homicide in Urban Communities. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing.

Keywords: empirical research, crime, immigration.

This book is the presentation of a study done in three border cities (El Paso, San Diego and Miami), which examines the relationship between ethnicity, immigration and homicide. The research questions listed as motivation for the study include: Do known structural influences on homicide vary across racial/ethnic groups and urban locations? What is the effect of recent immigration on community levels of homicide? What are the implications of the answers to these questions on theories of criminal violence? (Lee, p. 2) Chapter 2 looks at the evidence used to spread the popular stereotype of immigrants as criminal and finds little basis in facts. Statistical models, data collection and analysis strategies are presented in detail. After an in-depth look at the data and statistics, chapter 6 makes detailed conclusions about the lack of any significant relation between Latino homicide and immigration, black homicide and immigration, and consistently significant predictors of homicide: economic deprivation, labor market and neighborhood instability.

Matthew T. Lee is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Akron.

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Martinez, Jr., Ramiro and Abel Valenzuela, Jr.   (2006). Immigration and Crime: Race, Ethnicity, and Violence . New York: New York University Press.

Keywords: empirical research, assimilation, crime, criminalization, immigrants.

This book is a collection of nine study papers addressing various issues of immigration and crime written by university professors and six graduate students. The first chapter introduces the goal of the book, and includes a chart which shows violent crimes rates dropping since 1994, even as the percentage of foreign born population has increased. Martinez points out that there is a general lack of contemporary research into the impact of immigration on violence and crime. Empirical evidence presented in this book suggests there is a negative relationship, or no association, between immigrants and crime. Topics of research include juvenile delinquency by ethnicity, immigrant assimilation and impact of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on crime. The methodology for each chapter is clearly stated and sources are richly documented. There are seventeen contributing authors, including eleven university professors and six graduate students. Although individual dates are not included, it is apparent that most chapters were completed in 2005.

By Chapter:

•  Coming to America: The Impact of the New Immigration on Crime, by Ramiro Martínez, Jr.

•  Rethinking the Chicago School of Criminology: A New Era of Immigration by Robert J. Bursik, Jr.

•  Immigrant Assimilation and Crime: Generational Differences in Youth Violence in Chicago by Jeffrey D. Morenoff and Avraham Astor.

•  Immigration and Incarceration: Patterns and Predictors of Imprisonment among First- and Second-Generation Young Adults by Rubén G. Rumbaut, Roberto G. Gonzales, Golnaz Komaie, Charlie V. Morgan, and Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada.

•  Immigration and Asian Homicide Patterns in Urban and Suburban San Diego by Matthew T. Lee and Ramiro Martínez, Jr.

•  Delinquency and Acculturation in the Twenty-First Century: A Decade's Change in a Vietnamese American Community by Min Zhou and Carl L. Bankston III.

•  Beyond Conflict and Controversy: Blacks, Koreans, and Jews in Urban America by Jennifer Lee.

•  The "War on the Border": Criminalizing Immigrants and Militarizing the U.S.-Mexico Border by Sang Hea Kil and Cecilia Menjívar.

•  New Immigrants and Day Labor: The Potential for Violence by Abél Valenzuela, Jr.

•  Multiple Disadvantages and Crime Among Black Immigrants: Exploring Haitian Violence in Miami's Communities by Amie L. Nielsen and Ramiro Martínez, Jr.

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Welch, Michael. (2002). Detained: Immigration Laws and the Expanding I.N.S. Jail Complex . Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Keywords: criminalization, civil rights, detention centers, moral panic.

This book focuses on the expanding network of INS detention centers. In the second chapter the author claims moral panic has played a role in the mentality that allows the hostile treatment of immigrants to go unnoticed by mainstream America. Hostility which criminalizes, pathologizes and marginalizes immigrants has contributed to the "corrections-industrial complex" the author describes in chapter 8. This book was written and ready for publication when the 9/11 attacks occurred. An epilogue chapter was added which examines the government's response and the new anxieties over national security.  

Michael Welch is a professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University.

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Welch, Michael. (2006). Scapegoats of September 11th: Hate Crimes & State Crimes in the War on Terror . New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.

Keywords: hate crimes, criminalization, civil rights, scapegoat, blame.

This book explores the creation of "scapegoats" in the aftermath of 9/11. Examples of innocent people from specific non-white ethnic groups who have become targets of displaced aggression and blame are included. The author notes that blaming is an age-old way for communities to reduce the psychic discomfort of insecurity, and it serves to symbolically purify the community. He compares the current social anxiety to past examples in chapter 2. Government profiling policies and the backlash violence against specific ethnic minorities are the author's evidence of the culture of denial found in the U.S. The criminalization process is a cultural process, according to the author. Chapter 9 reviews the effects of the Patriot Act and how it supports the "criminology of other" ideology. The final chapter, "Culture of Denial," labors to explain the progression of American society into states of denial that are willing to justify otherwise unacceptable treatment of innocent, powerless populations.

Michael Welch is a professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University.

------------ JOURNAL ARTICLES ------------

Dow, Mark. (2007) Designed to Punish: Immigrant Detention and Deportation. Social Research . New York: Summer 2007. Vol. 74, Iss. 2.

Keywords: detention centers, prison, deportation, human rights, immigrants, refugees, asylum.

In this article the author asserts the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has worked to reinforce the impression that "illegal alien" is synonymous with "criminal." The author claims the punitive nature of detention is used as part of immigration policy. Dow's most disturbing speculation is the suggestion that private contract detention centers are profiting from the policy. Evidence is presented that states the amount of money budgeted by ICE in 2002 to detain aliens was $1.6 million per day. Detainees are held in correctional facilities, including a maximum security prison in Atlanta, in private prisons and local jails. In addition to his own work, American Gulag, Dow cites a Congressional Research Service document, court cases, law journals, ICE documents, and news articles.

Mark Dow has lectured at Hunter College and the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

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Jonas, Susanne.(2006). Reflections on the Great Immigration Battle of 2006 and the Future of the Americas. Social Justice . San Francisco: 2006. Vol. 33, Iss. 1; p. 6.

Keywords: civil rights, immigration policy, criminalization.

In this article the author analyzes the elements that motivated immigrants to protest H.R. 4437 in 2006, and the efforts of President Bush and Congress to pass immigration legislation. In her opinion H.R. 4437 would have further criminalized undocumented immigrants by making the act of being in the U.S. without a visa an aggravated felony, punishing them with deportation and detention. Both sides of the immigration issues are reviewed and background information included. Jonas analyzes the contributions of Harvard University's Samuel Huntington, anti-immigrant vigilantes and racist talk radio show hosts, giving them some credit for the current deadlock on immigration policy reform. Additional issues involving other Latin American countries, such as remittances and free trade agreements are also briefly analyzed. Nativist populism, which holds a view of immigrants as criminals or commodities, is the nightmare scenario the author warns could become policy and should be avoided.

Susanne Jonas is a professor of Latin American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz and is author of numerous articles and co-author of Immigration: A Civil Rights Issue for the Americas.  

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Kerwin, Donald. (2005). The Use and Misuse of 'National Security' Rationale in Crafting U.S. Refugee and Immigration Policies.  International Journal of Refugee Law,  Oxford: Dec 2005. Vol. 17, Iss. 4.

Keywords: immigrants, undocumented, security, refugee.

This article reviews policy developments since September 11, looking closely at their impact on immigrant rights and national security. The author asserts that all immigration control strategies added by the Bush administration have been justified as necessary for national security, but there is no evidence that any of the measures has advanced the fight against terrorism. In fact, according to the author, the new strategies have not only sacrificed immigrant rights, they have undermined national unity. The author states that any effort to identify and legalize undocumented immigrants would serve to increase national security. The treatment of refugees is compared to that of convicted criminals and the author disputes claims of effectiveness by the Justice Department.

Donald Kerwin is the Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). CLINIC is a public interest legal corporation in the United States that represents low income immigrants.

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Oppenheimer, Martin. (2008). Does Immigration Hurt U.S.-Born Workers? New Politics . Brooklyn: Winter 2008. Vol. 12, Iss. 2.

Keywords: employment, globalization, economy.

This article explores three related questions: Are immigrants hired in preference to U.S.-born, especially African American workers? Do immigrants displace U.S.-born workers? Does immigrant competition lower the wages of Black and other U.S.-born workers? The author points out that there is no objective or neutral methodology in immigration research. He approaches each question from opposing perspectives and shows that there is little hard evidence on either side. The author blames deindustrialization and globalization for destroying employment opportunities for U.S.-born workers. He concludes that globalization, not immigration, is creating victims of outsourcing in the U.S., and driving more immigrants to the U.S. for economic reasons.  

Martin Oppenheimer is professor emeritus of sociology at Rutgers University.

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Robbins, Ted. (2006). The Dangerous Numbers Game in Immigration Coverage. Nieman Reports . Cambridge: Fall 2006. Vol. 60, Iss. 3.

Keywords: undocumented, immigrants, census, debate.

In this short article (3 pages) the author states that the immigration debate is fueled more by emotion than data. He asserts the population of "undocumented immigrants" is not truly countable and pokes holes in the "residual method" used by the Pew Hispanic Center to estimate the number of illegal immigrants entering the country each year. He also decries another method uses the number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol and multiplies it by three. Additional examples of this type of fuzzy math are attributed to organizations with specific agendas. For example, the author states the Center for Immigration Studies is a think tank whose mission is to limit immigration. He also calls the National Immigration Forum a pro-immigration think tank and claims the best source of immigration data is the Heritage Foundation. The author accuses reporters of lazy inattention for using the less than reliable research numbers.

Ted Robbins is the Southwest United States correspondent for National Public Radio.

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Stumpf, Juliet P. (2006). Penalizing Immigrants. Federal Sentencing Reporter . New York: Apr 2006. Vol. 18, Iss. 4.

Keywords: criminal, immigrant, penalty, punishment.

In this article the author contrasts the penalty systems used by criminal law and immigration law. She states that in criminal law there is a graduated penalty system that applies penalties that range from fines to imprisonment according to the severity of the crime. The author questions the wisdom of using removal as a baseline punishment for all criminal offenses regardless of the violation. She concedes the penalty of removal is appropriate for people who are not legally in the country, but her argument is against applying the same penalty to every immigrant for all offenses.

Juliet P. Stumpf is an Associate Professor of Law at the Lewis and Clark Law School.

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Victor, Jeffrey S. (2006). Why the Terrorism Scare Is a Moral Panic. The Humanist. Washington, DC: Jul/Aug 2006. Vol. 66, Iss. 4, pg. 9.  

Keywords: terrorism, moral panic, civil rights.

This article intends to explain how the terrorism scare in the U.S. is a moral panic that has been exploited by groups with something to gain. According to the author, when legitimate authority publicly affirmed the terrorist threat as real, depicting suicidal fanatics as a threat to civilization, a new moral panic was ignited. The author makes comparisons to moral panics of the past, including the Red Scare and satanic cults.   He also asserts that fear of terrorism has been used to gain profit and power by the Bush administration, right-wing pundits and the mainstream media. Ideological struggles are described as a reflection of power struggles within society. Victor contends that innocent people have been persecuted including Muslims and anti-war protesters. The author recommends five websites as realistic alternatives to mass media for obtaining rational news analysis.

Jeffrey S. Victor is a professor of sociology at Jamestown Community College and is the author of numerous essays as well as the book Satanic Panic: the Creation of a Contemporary Legend.

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Welch, Michael (2003). Ironies of Social Control and the Criminalization of Immigrants.  Crime, Law and Social Change,   Dordrecht: Jun 2003. Vol. 39, Iss. 4; p. 319.

Keywords: criminalization, civil rights, detention centers, moral panic.

This article examines contradictions of immigration control legislation in the 1990s which the author attributes to a moral panic over immigrants, and an undifferentiated fear of crime, terrorism and foreigners. Much of the article is dedicated to the 1996 immigration laws which the author claims transformed social control and created new categories of criminal immigrants. The author states that by lowering the threshold of deportable crimes to include new categories, the laws instantly increased the number of immigrants subject to arrest and deportation. He then describes what he contends are the ironies and contradictions of immigration policy and how legislation since September 11 contributes to the problems.

Michael Welch is a professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University.

------------ WEB RESOURCES ------------

The following websites might be a good place to begin online research on the criminalization of immigrants.

U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov)

Official government census information, including data on foreign born populations.

Center for Immigration Studies (www.cis.org)

From the website: "The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985. It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic, fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States."

National Immigration Forum (www.immigrationforum.org)

The goal of the NIF is "to embrace and uphold America's tradition as a Nation of Immigrants."

This website includes immigration-related topics of current debates, resources on U.S. immigrant admissions policies, statistics, research, the role and impact of immigrants on our economy and resources that explain the problem of our broken immigration system.

Center for Democracy and Technology (www.cdt.org)

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a "non-profit, public interest organization dedicated to promoting civil liberties and democratic values for the new digital communications media." This website offers an analysis of bills that discussed in Congress from the current Congress back to the 105 th Congress. The list of issues they monitor includes "Security and Freedom."

Department of Homeland Security/ Immigration page (www.dhs.gov/ximgtn)

Includes categories of "Enforcement News," "Immigration Statistics," and links to other government sites and resources.

American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org)

The Immigrant's Rights page includes links to sub-titles of Asylum/Refugees, Detention, Legal Documents and Court Cases