By Tom K. Wong 

On May 13th, 2023, the U.S. Immigration Policy Center (USIPC) at UC San Diego interviewed asylum seekers detained by Border Patrol (BP) in the Jacumba desert. Over 1,000 people seeking asylum and refuge from nearly every part of the world were held in three makeshift encampments on the U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico border without adequate food, water, or shelter. Under the hot desert sun, the USIPC donated supplies and joined volunteers as they brought food, baby food, water, hygiene kits, clothes, blankets, diapers, and other supplies to these migrants. Using stratified random sampling during aid distribution in Camp 2, USIPC conducted fifteen structured interviews with asylum seekers. With approximately 150 people in Camp 2, these interviews represent a 10 percent sample. These data make clear that despite assertions by Border Patrol that the migrants were not being detained, they were surrounded by Border Patrol agents and would be apprehended if they tried to leave. This is consequential because those in Border Patrol custody, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search (TEDS), are entitled to basic humane treatment. The asylum seekers that we interviewed were only given one water bottle each day in the morning, were not given any food, were not given any shelter to protect themselves from the sun, and were not given blankets to keep themselves warm at night. Lastly, the data show that those seeking asylum have been ignored by Border Patrol agents, have been unable to formally request asylum, and have been denied due process.   

La Jolla, CA:  US Immigration Policy Center University of California San Diego (UCSD), 2023. 8p.

By  Ricardo D. Martínez-Schuldt and Ricardo D. Martínez

Sanctuary jurisdictions have existed in the United States since the 1980s. They have recently reentered U.S. politics and engendered contentious debates regarding their legality and influence on public safety. Critics argue that sanctuary jurisdictions create conditions that threaten local communities by impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. Proponents maintain that the policies improve public safety by fostering institutional trust among immigrant communities and by increasing the willingness of immigrant community members to notify the police after they are victimized. In this study, we situate expectations from the immigrant sanctuary literature within a multilevel, contextualized help-seeking framework to assess how crime-reporting behavior varies across immigrant sanctuary contexts. We find that Latinos are more likely to report violent crime victimization to law enforcement after sanctuary policies have been adopted within their metropolitan areas of residence. We argue that social policy contexts can shift the nature of help-seeking experiences and eliminate barriers that undermine crime victims’ willingness to mobilize the law. Overall, this study highlights the unique role social policy contexts can serve in structuring victims’ help-seeking decisions.

 American Sociological Review 86(1):154–85. 2021

By the American Civil Liberties Associations of New Mexico and Texas

Vehicle pursuits make for exciting movie scenes and capture the interest of reality TV viewers, but police chases are dangerous and often deadly.1 Law enforcement agencies across the country are increasingly restricting when such pursuits may be undertaken. Many have issued policies authorizing chases only when the public faces immediate danger. 2 The United States Border Patrol, the largest law enforcement agency in the country, has taken no such steps. In fact, the agency is increasingly engaged in high-speed chases throughout the Southwest border region, with deadly results. The number of fatalities resulting from Border Patrol vehicle pursuits has skyrocketed in recent years, from just 2 deaths in 2019 to 22 in 2021. Despite this trend, Border Patrol does not provide statistics on the number of car chases conducted by its agents unless the agency itself deems it a “use of force” incident, such as when a Border Patrol unit intentionally collides with a vehicle to cause it to crash or agents deploy spike strips to stop a vehicle.3 Senator Dianne Feinstein demanded in 2019 that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reevaluate its vehicle pursuit policy, stating: “CBP’s pursuit policy does not follow the Justice Department guidelines for vehicle pursuits, but instead offers insufficient protection against possible injuries and fatalities, either to bystander members of the public or occupants of a pursued vehicle. This has led to catastrophic and unwarranted results.   

Albuquerque, NM: ACLU, 2022. 13p.

By Emily J. Hanson

Across many countries and in the United States, Indigenous peoples—women and girls in particular—are disproportionately affected by violence. In the United States, for example, 84% of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) women and 82% of AI/AN men reported experiencing violent victimizations in their lifetime. Studies have also shown that Native American children are more likely to experience abuse and trauma than their non-Native peers. Additionally, as of June 2023, 3.5% of the missing persons included in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) were identified as AI/AN, which was more than three times their percentage in the U.S. population (1.1%). Advocacy by Native American and other Indigenous communities has brought increased attention to experiences of violence in Indigenous communities using the terms Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). This report provides an overview of recent research and commonly cited barriers to addressing MMIP, background on legislation and programming to improve data collection and criminal justice services for Native Americans, and selected policy issues Congress may consider when conducting oversight or considering legislation related to MMIP. In recent years, the federal government has made efforts to address MMIP and the high rate of violence experienced by Native Americans. This report provides background on these issues, including an in-depth review of major sources of data on missing Native Americans and violent victimizations. Data sources include the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, as well as federal databases tracking missing persons. These data sources present a consistent picture of high rates of violent victimization of Native Americans. The report then discusses three common barriers to the federal government’s and criminal justice systems’ ability to fully understand and address MMIP. The first potential barrier is the relative lack of culturally specific services for Native American crime victims who live outside of tribal lands. Second, complicated jurisdictional overlaps between federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement can lead to confusion regarding responsibility for investigations and prosecutions of crimes that occur on tribal land and can lead to loss of time and inefficient use of resources. The third barrier concerns gaps in the criminal justice data about MMIP. The report next discusses federal legislation and initiatives related to MMIP, including alerts for missing persons, efforts to encourage collaboration across federal agencies and with tribal governments, and efforts to improve data collection. This section covers Operation Lady Justice, which was created by Executive Order 13898, and the recently launched U.S. Department of the Interior Missing and Murdered Unit. Recent federal legislation to address MMIP is also discussed, including Savanna’s Act (P.L. 116-165) and the Not Invisible Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-166). The report concludes with a discussion of MMIP issues policymakers might consider when conducting oversight or considering legislation.

Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2023. 43p.

By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

The publication takes stock of technology tools and initiatives developed to combat trafficking in human beings in its different forms in the OSCE area and beyond. It also examines the ways technology can be misused to facilitate trafficking in human beings. It is the first known publication to conduct a global analysis of how different stakeholders, including law enforcement, civil society, businesses and academia can take advantage of technology to advance the fight against the human trafficking crime. The publication also provides recommendations to governments and organizations funding technology projects on how to maximize the value of technology-based solutions.

Vienna: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 2020. 78p.

By Kristina Beckman

Beckman applies linguistic theory to a single, actual court case. The case, U. S. v. L. Kong (CR00-0956-TUC-RCC), involves a licensed gun dealer who was charged with illegally selling weapons. His defense was that his abilities in English his first language is Chinese were not sufficient to understand some of the minor points of law. Therefore, there was no intent on his part to disobey the law and his actions were simply the result of a misunderstanding. This book examines his claim through applied forensic linguistic techniques. While a single text serves as the foundation for discussion, other representative cases are also included. Readers follow how a forensic linguist approaches a real case. Beckman's book offers a clear understanding of both the theory and practical application behind forensic linguistic research.

New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing , 2007. 212p.

By Ivan Y. Sun and Yuning Wu

This book discusses the issues surrounding race, ethnicity, and immigrant status in U.S. policing, with a special focus on immigrant groups’ perceptions of the police and factors that shape their attitudes toward the police. It focuses on the perceptions of three rapidly growing yet understudied ethnic groups – Hispanic/Latino, Chinese, and Arab Americans. Discussion of their perceptions of and experience with the police revolves around several central themes, including theoretical frameworks, historical developments, contemporary perceptions, and emerging challenges. This book appeals to those interested in or researching policing, race relations, and immigration in society, and to domestic and foreign government officials who carry law enforcement responsibilities and deal with citizens and immigrants in particular.

Palgrave, 2018. 195p.