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READ ME -Welcome to My Immigration InfoKit: Hate Crimes Against Immigrants

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READ ME -Welcome to My Immigration InfoKit: Hate Crimes Against Immigrants

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This Padlet will explore the alarming rise in hate crimes against immigrants in the U.S.

I will include 15 carefully selected resources, ranging from investigative journalism and government data to personal stories, podcasts, videos, movies, etc.

Each post will contain a resource and briefly explain its relevance.

Which of my topics will include racialized violence, anti-immigrant rhetoric, the role of media, law enforcement response, policy gaps, and community resistance?

For an easy way to explore my Padlet, I will post each topic with a different color, for example:

Orange for videos

Green for the article

Red for personal stories

White for news and podcast

Blue for data, research, and policy

Scroll through to explore.

My Padlet can be used for presentations, research, or community dialogue. Thank you for learning with me. Hope you enjoy it.

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Marcos Montoya Andrade, LULAC Research and Policy Fellow Dr. Ray Serrano, LULAC Director of Research & Policy

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A New Wave of Hate: The Anti-Immigrant Legislative Boom Since 2020

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Understanding hate crimes against immigrants: Considerations for future research

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Understanding hate crimes against immigrants: Considerations for future research

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The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 boosted hate crime research, but data collection limitations led to a decline. Despite this, a rise in hate crimes against immigrants has renewed interest in understanding their causes and effects. Recent studies examine the link between hate crimes and demographic, economic, and political changes in local contexts. This helps inform future research and policies to prevent hate crimes.

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This video is about Nina Timani, a Muslim Arab American, who was the victim of a hurtful hate crime in October 2006. She decided to report it to the FBI.

She explained how, on October 2, 2006, she became a victim of a hate crime. She also explained that she never knew what a hate crime was and how, if you are not a victim of a hate crime, people always tend to distance themself from it. And sadly, no ones do anything for victims of a hate crime,unless they get shot to death or stabbed.She tells us how on October 2, 2006, one of her employees sent her a very, very hurtful letter at her office, and in the letter, it said Remember 9-11, you and your kids be tied to the fence, and you will die. Even though she called the police, they told her if she wasn't dead or shot, there was nothing else they could do for her.

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Nina Timani, a Muslim Arab American, was the victim of a hurtful hate crime in October 2006. She decided to report it to the FBI. And she's glad she did.

Video Transcript

On October 2, 2006, I became a victim of a hate crime. I never knew what a hate crime was. If you're not a victim of a hate crime, you tend to distance yourself from it and say, it can never happen to me and, you know, just happens to someone else, not me; and unfortunately for the victim of a hate crime, unless you get shot to death or stabbed, people tend to trivialize your feelings.

On October 2, 2006, one of my employees sent me a very, very hurtful letter at my office where she tended to say that...remember 9-11, you and your kids we'll tie to the fence and you will die. So my first reaction was to call the Police Department of the city which I reside in, and they pretty much told me that if I wasn't shot or dead, there's not much they can do for me.

I had to follow the system, because either I take matters in my own hand and I do my own detective work which ultimately could lead "me" to go to jail, or I reach out to what I then perceived was the enemy, which was the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so I had no choice but to turn to them, and the reason I say that they are the enemy...it's not because they have harmed me or any of my family personally, it's just because there, where I come from, in our ethnic background, we see their equivalent in our countries and where you go in you don't come out; and I said to them please help me, please help me and my kids because we are your citizens too, and I defied my family's morals; and you know, my husband didn't want me to go public for fear of my losing my life, literally, so I defied all that, and I had to do what I had to do for my kids and I went to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I used the system, and I can hold my head up high to my kids today; and as you can see, I'm not handcuffed.

On October 2, 2006, I was a hate crime victim. I survived my hate crime. The pain will still be with me for a long, long time; but my healing process is that of reaching out to others and letting them know they're not alone.

For more information on getting involved in either bettering your, starting the level of combating hatred on the school level, on the youth level, or getting involved in combating hatred in Community Outreach Programs, please call your local FBI office.

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'I Survived My Hate Crime' | Federal Bureau of Investigation

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Nina Timani, a Muslim Arab American, was the victim of a hurtful hate crime in October 2006. She decided to report it to the FBI. And she's glad she did. On October 2, 2006, I became a victim of a hate crime. I never knew what a hate crime was.

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How the Federal Government is Confronting Anti-Asian Hate

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How the Federal Government is Confronting Anti-Asian Hate

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian hate violence and speech intensified, and Asian American hate crimes in major American cities increased by 150% in 2020. Nearly 40% of Asian Americans changed their behaviors to stay safe. The March 2021 Georgia shootings created a national wave to counteract hate. Nevertheless, there remain gaps in reporting hate crimes, with Asian Americans being among the least likely to report due to barriers like a lack of information and retaliation

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In Focus: How the Federal Government is Confronting Anti-Asian Hate

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This article reflects some of the shortcomings and challenges of hate crime data collected in the U.S. The article restates that underreporting is inevitable because of police distrust, fear, cultural and linguistic barriers, and institutional ones such as bias and misclassification of the police. It also points out how immigrants and marginalized communities, relations, and Asian Americans, Black Americans, and Latinos are the ones that are the most affected by hate incidents, many of which go unrecorded in official statistics. Grassroots organizations such as the LA vs. Hate, Stop AAPI Hate, and Vigilant Love are building community-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive solutions to policing, demanding solidarity, healing, and noncarceral solutions to justice. This article also cautions against the growth of surveillance through data collection projects tied to law enforcement.

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Hate Crimes: A welcoming place is also a safe place that is free from any kind of hostility.

In2014, reported hate crimes throughout California were at an all-time low. Between 2014 and 2018, there was an uptick in the rate of hate crimes reported, increasing from 2.0 per 100,000 people to 2.7 per 100,000 people.

Race/ethnicity/ancestry continues to be the top bias motivation for hate crimes reported throughout California. Between 2002 and 2018, nearly 60% of hate crimes reported in California were motivated by bias against a victim's race/ethnicity/ancestry.

The California Department of Justice's 2018 Hate Crime report reveals that between 2009 and 2018, anti-Blackness was the top specific bias motivation for hate crimes categorized under race/ethnicity/ancestry.

Hate crimes data are limited as they do not fully capture all hate incidents including bias and discrimination. In addition, many hate crimes go unreported due to differences in policies across law enforcement agencies, differences in investigation procedures, and likelihood of individuals to report hate crimes.

Hate in America reveals that immigrants may not report hate crimes due to the fear associated with interactions with law enforcement.

STOP AAPI Hate has recorded nearly 3,800 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination across the U.S throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as of February 28, 2021, with 45% of these reports occurring in California.

Across the U.S., between 2014 and 2016, hate crimes motivated by anti-Muslim bias increased from 154 to 307 , respectively.

In 2019, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) California, received 84 reports of hate incidents and hate crimes throughout the state. A 2018-2019 survey conducted by CAIR California also revealed that Muslim students reported higher rates of bullying and discrimination as compared to other students, with 40% of respondents experiencing bullying for being Muslim.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, STOP AAPI Hate, a new reporting center, has documented over 1,900 hostile incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the U.S. over an eight-week period.

STOP AAPI Hate, a collaborative of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CCA), and San Francisco State University's Asian American Studies Department, is gathering data that would otherwise not be reflected in national hate crime reports due to the narrow federal definition that guides hate crime data collection.In California, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Justice Statistics Center (CJSC) collects hate crime data from law enforcement agencies (LEA's) across the state, publishing the data on Open Justice. The state's definition of a hate crime reflects the federal definition and often does not capture the hostility towards specific groups, as this hostility can extend beyond the narrow definition of a "crime" and can come in many forms, including bias or discrimination. Launched in March of this year, the STOP AAPI HATE initiative is encouraging all who have witnessed or experienced any type of harassment to report these incidents directly to the center, so that organizations and agencies can respond to specific community needs with adequate resources. In addition to distributing information and resources to those impacted, CAA's co-Executive Director Cynthia Choi says, "'We also need to mobilize community groups and to demand greater accountability from government agencies and leaders to address anti-Asian racism. In times of crisis and longer term, we need to work alongside other communities that are targeted to get at the underlying causes of hate.'" To learn more about the STOP AAPI reporting center's findings click here. To visit the STOP AAPI reporting center, click here.

Photo credit: Hossam el-Hamalawy

Strategic multiracial solidarity efforts push back against Islamophobia.

Vigilant Love, a grassroots organization, brings together Los Angeles-based Japanese American and Muslim American communities to challenge Islamophobia through direct action, political education, artistic performances, and open vigils for community building. In February 2017, after the first iteration of the "Muslim Ban" executive order was enacted, Vigilant Love organized a nonviolent sit-in and rally at the Los Angeles International Airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal, drawing about 3,000 people. traci ishigo from Vigilant Love shares the importance of multiracial solidarity:

"When there are moments of socio-political fear that's weaponized against marginalized communities, we actually need to be practicing and staying true to a sense of vigilant love. That includes creating safety and protection, rather than a hyper-vigilance or fear of certain communities, which only leads to further violence against people of color. For the Japanese American community, who knows what it's like to be surveilled, forcibly removed, separated from their families, and then incarcerated, there's just a high sense of responsibility and need to relate to communities who are being directly impacted today. When you show up in solidarity, it's an opportunity for honoring our history, which serves for intergenerational healing. It also reaffirms the injustice that happened to our communities so that it doesn't happen again to Muslim Americans or other targeted communities. And so for me, it's deeply important that Japanese Americans are showing up alongside Muslim Americans to build those actual relationships so that strategic solidarity can be possible." To learn more about their strategies, visit Vigilant Love.

Photo credit: Daniel Tomita

Resources:

Reports:

Articles:

Assaults against Muslims in U.S. surpass 2001 level

Coronavirus: Bay Area Officials, advocates look to get in front of COVID-19 hate crimes

Crime Rates Down Overall, But Hate Crimes Up in SD County: Report

Hate crimes against American Muslims up 15%, says CAIR

Hate crimes and attacks against Muslims doubled in California last year-report

Hate crime fell in U.S. in 2018. But that's not what happened in Fresno, Valley

LA County sees highest number of hate crimes in a decade, with more than 500 in 2018, report says

Latest FBI numbers show anti-Muslim hate crimes continue to rise, suggest growing shift toward violence against people

More than 1,000 reports of anti-Asian racism in California since March, data show

Orange County sees spikes in hate crimes and incidents

Reports of Anti-Asian Assaults, Harassment and Hate Crimes Rise as Coronavirus Spreads

Supervisors Vote to Restart Human Relations Commission, San Diego County

These California counties have the highest hate crime reports

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, STOP AAPI Hate, a new reporting center, has documented over 1,900 hostile incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the U.S. over an eight-week period.

STOP AAPI Hate, a collaborative of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CCA), and San Francisco State University's Asian American Studies Department, is gathering data that would otherwise not be reflected in national hate crime reports due to the narrow federal definition that guides hate crime data collection.In California, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Justice Statistics Center (CJSC) collects hate crime data from law enforcement agencies (LEA's) across the state, publishing the data on Open Justice. The state's definition of a hate crime reflects the federal definition and often does not capture the hostility towards specific groups, as this hostility can extend beyond the narrow definition of a "crime" and can come in many forms, including bias or discrimination. Launched in March of this year, the STOP AAPI HATE initiative is encouraging all who have witnessed or experienced any type of harassment to report these incidents directly to the center, so that organizations and agencies can respond to specific community needs with adequate resources. In addition to distributing information and resources to those impacted, CAA's co-Executive Director Cynthia Choi says, "'We also need to mobilize community groups and to demand greater accountability from government agencies and leaders to address anti-Asian racism. In times of crisis and longer term, we need to work alongside other communities that are targeted to get at the underlying causes of hate.'" To learn more about the STOP AAPI reporting center's findings click here. To visit the STOP AAPI reporting center, click here.

Photo credit: Hossam el-Hamalawy

Strategic multiracial solidarity efforts push back against Islamophobia.

Vigilant Love, a grassroots organization, brings together Los Angeles-based Japanese American and Muslim American communities to challenge Islamophobia through direct action, political education, artistic performances, and open vigils for community building. In February 2017, after the first iteration of the "Muslim Ban" executive order was enacted, Vigilant Love organized a nonviolent sit-in and rally at the Los Angeles International Airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal, drawing about 3,000 people. traci ishigo from Vigilant Love shares the importance of multiracial solidarity:

"When there are moments of socio-political fear that's weaponized against marginalized communities, we actually need to be practicing and staying true to a sense of vigilant love. That includes creating safety and protection, rather than a hyper-vigilance or fear of certain communities, which only leads to further violence against people of color. For the Japanese American community, who knows what it's like to be surveilled, forcibly removed, separated from their families, and then incarcerated, there's just a high sense of responsibility and need to relate to communities who are being directly impacted today. When you show up in solidarity, it's an opportunity for honoring our history, which serves for intergenerational healing. It also reaffirms the injustice that happened to our communities so that it doesn't happen again to Muslim Americans or other targeted communities. And so for me, it's deeply important that Japanese Americans are showing up alongside Muslim Americans to build those actual relationships so that strategic solidarity can be possible." To learn more about their strategies, visit Vigilant Love.

Photo credit: Daniel Tomita

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Hate Crimes: A welcoming place is also a safe place that is free from any kind of hostility. In2014, reported hate crimes throughout California were at an all-time low. Between 2014 and 2018, there was an uptick in the rate of hate crimes reported, increasing from 2.0 per 100,000 people to 2.7 per 100,000 people.

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How misinformation and insecurity about immigration have fueled harsher border enforcement

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How misinformation and insecurity about immigration have fueled harsher border enforcement

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The construction of the US-Mexico border wall, a key promise of Donald Trump's first presidential term, has been a pillar of his migration agenda. Trump's influence on the political agenda has been mainly due to Twitter, where he spread misinformation and distortions on immigration. Research shows that many negative perceptions of immigrants are highly distorted, and while native-born Americans commit most crimes, the crime rate among undocumented immigrants has historically been low. However, a substantial number of Americans still believe that immigration increases criminality.

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Recent years have seen increasingly harsh immigration policies, especially for irregular migrants entering at the US-Mexico border. Lauro Accioly Filho writes that misinformation about the effects of immigration to the US, such as crime rates, has been combined with the framing of immigration as a national security threat. Working together, these two factors have resulted in US border policies that are more harmful for irregular migrants.
In the United States, public perceptions of Latin American immigrants, often reflect deep-rooted and historical traits of xenophobia. A 2015 Pew Research Center study revealed that a large portion of Americans believed the presence of immigrants had worsened the country's economic situation and led to increased crime rates. Studies suggest that those who hold such views are more likely to support the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border - a highly costly project - over other immigration-related policies. This negative perception is made worse in the current climate of misinformation, which contributes to the spread of misconceptions about immigration across the United States.

Misinformation about immigration and crime

A U.S. Soldier from the Georgia National Guard conducts a visual inspection of a passing train traveling from Mexico to the U.S. to detect illegal crossings of the border in Uvalde, Texas on Feb. 12, 2025(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Sveen)

In this context, the construction of the border wall was one of Donald Trump's flagship political promises in his first presidential term, becoming the pillar of his broader migration agenda during his presidency. Furthermore, Trump exerted significant influence over the political agenda via Twitter (now X), spreading misinformation and distortions on immigration and other topics. Also, research shows that many of the negative perceptions of immigrants, regardless of legal status, are highly distorted. When it comes to crime in the United States, for instance, there is growing evidence that immigrants - both documented and undocumented - are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. This phenomenon is borne out in data indicating that, since 2012, most crimes have been committed by native-born Americans. Nationally, the crime rate among undocumented immigrants has historically been low. Since 1980, immigrants have had lower incarceration rates than native citizens - a pattern sustained for over 150 years. Nonetheless, a substantial number of Americans still believe that immigration increases criminality.

Given this, is misinformation the only factor shaping these negative perceptions? In my recent research, I found that although it plays an important role, it is not the sole element at play. But, a concept widely discussed in International Relations - securitization - has gained relevance in this debate. This concept explores how certain issues are strategically framed as matters of national security or threats, thus legitimizing the adoption of emergency and exceptional measures. Some scholars argue that this process results in a social engineering of insecurity, where certain topics are repeatedly framed as security problems to justify increasingly restrictive policies - which often creates more issues than it solves.

Prevention through deterrence at the US-Mexico border

In this way, securitization has become a recurring strategy in US politics, particularly after the 11 September 2001 attacks. This process involves framing immigration as a threat to national security, thus legitimizing restrictive policies and emergency measures.

This scenario directly applies to the issue of the US-Mexico border. Since Bill Clinton's administration, the US government has adopted the strategy of prevention through deterrence, which strengthened border control through heavy investment in surveillance and enforcement infrastructure, pushing migrants towards more perilous crossing routes - a policy that has contributed to increased migrant deaths. As migrants are forced to seek out more dangerous routes, their lives are placed at greater risk. This reflects a deterrence-base strategy - in other words, the intention is to discourage irregular migration, rather than to completely prevent these groups from entering the country. This model was further amplified under George W. Bush and became a central pillar of Donald Trump's agenda.

Misinformation helps push harsher border policies

So, the US-Mexico border wall - one of Trump's main campaign 2016 promises - exemplifies how securitization and misinformation go hand in hand in shaping immigration policy. Particularly among groups who believe that immigration worsens crime and harms the economy, there is a tendency to support border-closing policies, such as the wall. Moreover, Trump played a major role in setting the political agenda through social media, spreading false and distorted information about immigration. His statements, magnified by social media coverage, helped to strengthen the belief that immigrants pose a threat to the country. Thus, his rhetoric, combined with the dissemination of misleading data, not only distorted the reality of immigration in the United States but also resulted in policies that increased precarity for migrants and heightened violence along the border.

The social engineering of insecurity

The broader context of insecurity is also reinforced by both real and manufactured crises. Times of economic instability, terrorist attacks and outbreaks of violence are frequently exploited for political gain, associating immigration with imminent threats. This "social engineering of insecurity" legitimizes tougher border policies and reinforces a cycle of exclusion: the more immigrants are portrayed as threats; the more justification arises for restricting their rights and intensifying control measures.

Beyond the political and social consequences, the securitization of immigration has direct effects on migrants' lives, rendering their conditions in the US increasingly precarious. Border militarization, for instance, does not prevent irregular immigration - it simply makes it more dangerous. The criminalization of migration leads to family separations, mass deportations, and the marginalization of entire communities.

Thus, it becomes clear that misinformation is not the sole driver behind the negative perception of immigrants. The broader context of insecurity - both real and fabricated - plays a central role in constructing immigration as a threat. This process fuels restrictive policies, deepens migrant marginalization, and sustains a distorted view of the reality of migration in the United States.

About the author

Posted In: Democracy and culture | Justice and Domestic Affairs

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How misinformation and insecurity about immigration have fueled harsher border enforcement | USAPP

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Recent years have seen increasingly harsh immigration policies, especially for irregular migrants entering at the US-Mexico border. Lauro Accioly Filho writes that misinformation about the effects of immigration to the US, such as crime rates, has been combined with the framing of immigration as a national security threat.

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Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence

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Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence

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During Donald Trump's presidency, political discourse in the US became increasingly hateful and divisive, targeting racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, the media, and politicians. Bullying incidents in schools also increased. Trump's aggressive rhetoric, both online and offline, was seconded by his followers, causing psychological and physical harm to his declared enemies.

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During Donald Trump's presidential candidacy and presidency political discourse in the United States became more hateful and divisive. Threats and actual violence against groups and individuals singled out and demonized by Trump increased. The targets of his verbal attacks were most of all racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, the news media collectively and individual journalists, and well-known politicians, mostly Democrats. There was a rise in bullying incidents in schools against minority students. Assuming that aggressive rhetoric by influential political leaders affect their supporters' words and deeds, we examined Trump's online and offline hate speech, the rhetorical reactions of his followers, and the violent consequences suffered by their declared enemies. We found that contrary to an old children's rhyme ("Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me") Trump's aggressive, divisive, and dehumanizing language was seconded by his followers and inflicted directly or indirectly psychological and physical harm to Trump's declared enemies.

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Donald Trump: Aggressive Rhetoric and Political Violence

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During Donald Trump's presidential candidacy and presidency political discourse in the United States became more hateful and divisive. Threats and actual violence against groups and individuals singled out and demonized by Trump increased. The targets of his verbal attacks were most of all racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, the news media collectively and individual journalists, and well-known politicians, mostly Democrats.

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Rise In Anti-Latino Hate Crimes Pushes Overall Number To 11-Year High

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Rise In Anti-Latino Hate Crimes Pushes Overall Number To 11-Year High

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This video news talks about anti-Latinx hate crimes and how hate-motivated killings in the United States hit their highest level on record in 2019; also, about 51 hate-motivated killings were reported last year.

Twenty-two of the victims died in the mass shooting in El Paso, and most of them were Latino that is according to a new FBI report. In the video, Suzanne also explained how, in 2019, there were 527 anti-Latino crimes, which is about an 8.7 percent increase from 2018, when there were only 485.

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Rise In Anti-Latino Hate Crimes Pushes Overall Number To 11-Year High | NBC News NOW

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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has criticized the Trump administration for imposing religious-based bans on Muslims entering the US. The NAACP argues that the Trump administration's demonization of Muslims as primarily responsible for terrorism and the prosecution of hate crimes against Muslims are contributing factors to the backlash. The organization calls for the US Department of Justice and state and local officials to prosecute hate crimes against Muslims to the fullest extent of the law, and for the Trump administration to discontinue its demonization of Muslims as persons primarily responsible for terrorism. The NAACP's resolutions support the constitutional right of all citizens to religious freedom and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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The NAACP calls upon the United States Department of Justice and all state and local officials to prosecute hate crimes against Muslims to the fullest extent of the law.

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Black imprisonment rate in the U.S. has fallen by a third since 2006

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Black imprisonment rate in the U.S. has fallen by a third since 2006

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Consistent with these statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics discovered that there were 1,501 black prisoners per 100,000 black adults at the close of 2018, a contrast with 2,261 inmates per 100,000 black adults in 2006. The rate similarly dropped for Hispanic and white Americans, though not as sharply as among blacks. Black men are particularly likely to be imprisoned, with 2,272 inmates per 100,000 black men in 2018. The racial and ethnic makeup of US prisons is significantly different from the country's overall demographics. The US imprisonment rate has been on a downward trajectory for the past decade, with the highest incarceration rate in the world.

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The nation's imprisonment rate is at its lowest level in more than two decades. The greatest decline has come among black Americans, whose imprisonment rate has decreased 34% since 2006.

There were 1,501 black prisoners for every 100,000 black adults at the end of 2018, according to a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the statistical agency of the U.S. Justice Department. That was down sharply from 2,261 black inmates per 100,000 black adults at the end of 2006, according to an earlier BJS study. These statistics only count inmates sentenced to more than a year in state or federal prison. They exclude inmates held in local jails and those sentenced to shorter periods of imprisonment.

Imprisonment rates have also declined for the two other major racial or ethnic groups tracked by BJS - Hispanic and white Americans - though not as much as among blacks. Between 2006 and 2018, the imprisonment rate fell 26% among Hispanics and 17% among whites.

While their rate of imprisonment has decreased the most in recent years, black Americans remain far more likely than their Hispanic and white counterparts to be in prison. The black imprisonment rate at the end of 2018 was nearly twice the rate among Hispanics (797 per 100,000) and more than five times the rate among whites (268 per 100,000).

Black men are especially likely to be imprisoned. There were 2,272 inmates per 100,000 black men in 2018, compared with 1,018 inmates per 100,000 Hispanic men and 392 inmates per 100,000 white men. The rate was even higher among black men in certain age groups: Among those ages 35 to 39, for example, about one-in-twenty black men were in state or federal prison in 2018 (5,008 inmates for every 100,000 black men in this age group).

The racial and ethnic makeup of U.S. prisons continues to look substantially different from the demographics of the country as a whole. In 2018, black Americans represented 33% of the sentenced prison population, nearly triple their 12% share of the U.S. adult population. Whites accounted for 30% of prisoners, about half their 63% share of the adult population. Hispanics accounted for 23% of inmates, compared with 16% of the adult population.

Black inmates have long outnumbered white and Hispanic prisoners in the U.S., but these gaps have become narrower as the black imprisonment rate has fallen.

In absolute numbers, there were about 465,200 black inmates in state or federal prison at the end of 2018, a 21% decrease from 590,300 at the end of 2006. The number of white inmates fell 15% during the same period - from 507,100 to 430,500 - while the number of Hispanic inmates increased 5%, from 313,600 to 330,200. The increase in Hispanic prisoners during this period was slower than the increase in the overall Hispanic population in the U.S., which is why the Hispanic imprisonment rate decreased.

Overall, the U.S. imprisonment rate has been on a downward trajectory for the past decade, though the country still has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Counting all races and ethnicities, the U.S. imprisonment rate fell 17% between 2006 and 2018, from 666 prisoners per 100,000 adults to 555 per 100,000. The imprisonment rate at the end of 2018 was about the same level as in 1995, when there were 556 prisoners for every 100,000 adults.

Experts have pointed to a variety of possible factors to explain the decrease in the imprisonment rate, including the pronounced decline among black Americans. One especially noteworthy trend has been a steep drop in crime rates since the mid-1990s. The U.S. violent crime rate fell 51% between 1993 and 2018, while the property crime rate decreased 54% during that span, according to the FBI.

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Black imprisonment rate in the U.S. has fallen by a third since 2006

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The nation's imprisonment rate is at its lowest level in more than two decades. The greatest decline has come among black Americans, whose imprisonment rate has decreased 34% since 2006. There were 1,501 black prisoners for every 100,000 black adults at the end of 2018, according to a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the statistical agency of the U.S.

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Op-Ed: Immigration Reform – Justice and Common Sense: No Human Being is Illegal (Poughkeepsie Journal)

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Op-Ed: Immigration Reform – Justice and Common Sense: No Human Being is Illegal (Poughkeepsie Journal)

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The US immigration system is broken, with up to one million undocumented immigrants in New York State facing a human rights crisis. The system causes raids, detentions, and unscrupulous employers. President Obama is committed to fixing the system, and Sen. Charles Schumer is introducing comprehensive immigration reform legislation. New Yorkers should inform Schumer that workable reform would protect civil rights and liberties.

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Op-Ed: Immigration Reform - Justice and Common Sense: No Human Being is Illegal (Poughkeepsie Journal) - NYCLU

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In New York State, up to one million undocumented immigrants are trapped in a system that makes it nearly impossible to attain lawful status, even if they have lived here since they were children, paid taxes and have children who are American citizens.

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Research has demonstrated that immigrant women are at increased risk of domestic violence victimization or of intensified abuse. Immigrant women experience the same stressors

and trauma of intimate partner violence as women born in the United States, but

With the added burdens of immigration status and context, which intersect with

social‐structural factors such as race, class, culture, ethnicity, and gender to exacerbate immigrant women’s abuse experiences.

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Racial disparities in sentencing decisions in the US are significant, with Black males receiving nearly 20% longer sentences than white males. These disparities are not unintentional, but result from the war on drugs and selective enforcement of drug laws. They affect all stages of the criminal legal system, including representation, charging, and plea agreements.

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Race and Criminal Justice | American Civil Liberties Union

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The ACLU works to reduce the number of people incarcerated, surveilled and criminalized by law enforcement and in the courts, and aims to address the root causes of crime, such as poverty and lack of opportunity.

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U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement

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U.S. Citizen Children Impacted by Immigration Enforcement

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Millions of children, including children of U.S. citizens, suffer severe physical, emotional, developmental, and financial consequences as a result of immigration enforcement actions in the United States. As of 2018, 6.1 million children under the age of 18 in the United States lived with an undocumented family member, and 4.4 million had at least one undocumented parent. Parents and other family members being deported have significant repercussions for children, entire communities, and the nation at large.

Children who are detained and/or deported are more likely to suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and extreme psychological distress. Along with physical ailments like cancer, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease, they are also more likely to experience long-term mental health issues like depression and PTSD.

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The Immigration System is Racist; Solutions Exist

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The Immigration System is Racist; Solutions Exist

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In 2015, Black Dominican immigrant Julio was stopped by police for "walking suspiciously" in New York City. He was 18 years old and was attending Bronx Community College. The stop-and-frisk era, a racist policing strategy, subjected Black people to a disproportionate percentage of police stops. Julio was arrested and found with an unregistered gun. He was sentenced to five years in prison. He earned early release after working for prison labor manufacturing and taking education courses. However, instead of being released, he was immediately placed in immigration detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Julio was held in a prison-like detention center, where human rights abuses abound. The detention facility was described as worse than prison.

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The Immigration System is Racist; Solutions Exist

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In 2015, Julio, a Black Dominican immigrant living in New York City, was stopped by police for “walking suspiciously.” It was the tail end of the stop and frisk era, the notoriously racist policing strategy that subjected Black people to a vastly disproportionate percentage of police stops in the…

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ICE Program Foments Abuse, Hatred, and Fear — and Makes Us All Less Safe

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ICE Program Foments Abuse, Hatred, and Fear — and Makes Us All Less Safe

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New ACLU report reveals that racial profiling, poor jail conditions, and other civil rights violations are widespread among the 142 state and local law enforcement agencies ICE describes as participants in the 287(g) program as of April 2022. Most local partners have documented incidents of civil rights violations and other abuses.

The report also highlights that xenophobia is at the very heart of the program, which expanded fivefold under the anti-immigrant efforts of the Trump administration. Under the Trump administration, the program grew nearly fivefold in a few short years, reaching an all-time high of 152 participating agencies.

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ICE Program Foments Abuse, Hatred, and Fear — and Makes Us All Less Safe | ACLU

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A new ACLU report on the 287(g) program’s harmful partnerships with local sheriffs reveals racist abuses and no accountability.