Citizenship and Punishment: The Salience of National Membership in U.S. Criminal Courts

39 Pages Posted: 2 Nov 2014

See all articles by Michael T. Light

Michael T. Light

Purdue University

Michael Massoglia

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Sociology

Ryan D. King

State University of New York (SUNY) - Sociology

Date Written: October 31, 2014

Abstract

When compared to research on the association between immigration and crime, far less attention has been given to the relationship between immigration, citizenship and criminal punishment. As such, several fundamental questions about how noncitizens are sanctioned and whether citizenship is a marker of stratification in U.S. courts remain unanswered. Are citizens treated differently than noncitizens – both legal and undocumented – in United States federal criminal courts? Is the well documented Hispanic-white sentencing disparity confounded by citizenship status? Has the association between citizenship and sentencing remained stable over time? And are punishment disparities contingent on the demographic context of the court? Analysis of several years of data from U.S. federal courts indicates that citizenship status is a salient predictor of sentencing outcomes – more powerful than race or ethnicity. Other notable findings include the following: Accounting for citizenship substantially attenuates disparities between whites and Hispanics; the “citizenship effect” on sentencing has grown stronger over time; and the effect is most pronounced in districts with increasing noncitizen populations. The findings suggest that as international migration increases citizenship may be an emerging and powerful axis of sociolegal inequality.

Keywords: Citizenship, punishment, social control

Suggested Citation

Light, Michael T. and Massoglia, Michael and King, Ryan D., Citizenship and Punishment: The Salience of National Membership in U.S. Criminal Courts (October 31, 2014). Criminal Justice, Borders and Citizenship Research Paper No. 2517392, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2517392

Michael T. Light (Contact Author)

Purdue University ( email )

610 Purdue Mall
West Lafayette, IN 47907
United States

Michael Massoglia

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Sociology ( email )

Madison, WI 53706
United States

Ryan D. King

State University of New York (SUNY) - Sociology ( email )

Albany, NY 12222
United States

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