'Immigrants Are Not Criminals': Respectability, Immigration Reform, and Hyperincarceration

Abstract

Mainstream pro-immigrant law reformers advocate for better treatment of immigrants by invoking a contrast with people convicted of a crime. This Article details the harms and limitations of a conceptual framework for immigration reform that draws its narrative force from a contrast with people-citizens and noncitizens-who have been convicted of a criminal offense and proposes an alternate approach that better aligns with racial and class critiques of the U.S. criminal justice system. Noncitizens with a criminal record are overwhelmingly low-income people of color. While some have been in the United States for a short period of time, many have resided in the United States for much longer. Many are lawful permanent residents with strong family ties, including U.S. citizen children. Convicted noncitizens who have served significant time in our penal system have experienced the well-documented harms associated with both criminal and civil * Clinical Professor and Roger Schindler Fellow, University of Miami School of Law. I wish to thank the following people for their thoughtful feedback on earlier drafts of this article:

Campus Administrators’ Responses to Donald Trump’s Immigration Policy: Leadership During Times of Uncertainty

“…While Latinos make up the largest ethnic group of non-citizens in the U.S., most of these individuals have resided in the U.S. for a long period of time, have strong family ties, and have children who are lawful U.S. citizens (Baum, 2010;Almeida, Johnson, McNamara, & Gupta, 2011;Sharpless, 2016). The Migration Policy Institute suggests there are approximately 820,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions that provide cause for removal (Sharpless, 2016, p. 255).…”

“…The Migration Policy Institute suggests there are approximately 820,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions that provide cause for removal (Sharpless, 2016, p. 255). Many of those individuals have recently committed youthful indiscretions, while some have decades-old convictions but have secured steady employment or a history of U.S. military service (Sharpless, 2016). …”

“…President Trump's focus on immigration has led to efforts to increase migration enforcement and the administration's announced intent to deport two to three million unauthorized immigrants (Sharpless, 2016;Chacon, 2017;Martin, 2017b). During his first two weeks in office, Trump issued executive orders calling for a ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and denying U.S. entry for most refugees fleeing war-torn countries (Sharpless, 2016).…”

“…President Trump's focus on immigration has led to efforts to increase migration enforcement and the administration's announced intent to deport two to three million unauthorized immigrants (Sharpless, 2016;Chacon, 2017;Martin, 2017b). During his first two weeks in office, Trump issued executive orders calling for a ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and denying U.S. entry for most refugees fleeing war-torn countries (Sharpless, 2016). Through the course of his presidency, Trump has continued to exercise his immigration policy by promising to rescind executive orders signed during the Obama D administration related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (Martin, 2017b).…”

“…Campaign promises from the president to "build the wall", coupled with hiring 15,000 additional Customs and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, while publicly stating "We have some bad hombres and were going to get them out" have created a fear and uncertainty in the immigrant community (CNN, 2016, Sharpless, 2016. Markowitz (2017) of the Cardozo Law School noted: "I have never seen the level of panic that is gripping our immigrant communities" (Markowitz, 2017).…”