TY - CEPII
A1 - Simone Bertoli
A1 - Morgane Laouenan
A1 - Jérôme Valette
TI - Border Apprehensions and Federal Sentencing of Hispanic Citizens in the United States
IS - 2023-02
T3 - Working Papers
KW - Immigration
KW - Ethnic Identity
KW - Discrimination
KW - Attitudes
KW - Salience
N2 - We provide evidence that Hispanic citizens receive significantly longer sentences than non-Hispanic citizens in the Federal Criminal Justice System in the United States when a higher number of illegal aliens are apprehended along the southwest border. Apprehensions can increase the salience of Hispanic ethnic identity, which is associated with persistent negative stereotypes, and can also deteriorate attitudes toward Hispanics. We rule out concerns that apprehensions might convey legally relevant information to judges. Thus, we provide direct evidence for time-varying discrimination toward Hispanic defendants. Our estimated effect is only at play for defendants without a heavy previous criminal record.
ER -