A new report released by the government on Tuesday shows that Latinos made up the majority of new federal inmates sent to prison so far this year, largely due to immigration offenses.
During the first nine months of fiscal year 2011 Latinos accounted for 50.3 percent of those sentenced for felony crimes, whites made up 26.4 percent, and blacks 19.7 percent, according to the report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
The new figure is largely due to an increase in the number of felony immigration crimes such as illegal entry and human smuggling.
“Statistics like this have to start drawing attention to this country’s immigration policies and what we’re doing, if this is one of the results,” said Fordham University Law School professor Deborah Denno, an expert on racial disparities in the criminal justice system. “The implications for Hispanics are huge when you think of the number of families affected by having their breadwinners put away for what in some cases would be considered a non-violent offense.
Recent Comments