Research

Immigration, moral panics, and punishment

My dissertation, Immigration, Moral Panics, and Punishment: The Impact of Media Coverage and Public Interest on Jail Incarceration, examines the mechanisms influencing the punishment of immigrants in the United States. By integrating moral panic theory with research on immigration, crime, and punishment, I propose that the inflammatory language surrounding immigration in media and public discourse has transformed immigrants into “criminal subjects”. I argue that the framing of immigration in terms of illegality reinforces and amplifies the perceived threat posed by immigrants, which may legitimize support for and the use of punitive social control measures targeting immigrants. Moreover, although the mass media has traditionally had a monopoly on the ability to shape collective sentiment, the rise of digital platforms and communications have transformed the public into “digitally empowered claim–makers” with significant capabilities to sculpt public sentiment and define social problems. To understand whether increased concern over immigrant criminality impacts punishment, data on newspaper coverage of and Google search volumes for the term “illegal immigration” are collected, alongside county–level jail data from the entire United States.

Punishment and incarceration

In a co-authored paper published in Criminal Justice and Behavior, I also examine the mechanisms and consequences of cumulative violence exposure experienced by adult gang members before, during, and after incarceration. Utilizing semi–structured interviews, we found a multiplicity of violence experiences, both direct and vicarious, with significant physiological and psychological ramifications.

Furthermore, I contributed to the evaluation of the implementation of the initial appearance program in St. Louis County, Missouri. This program provides legal representation to individuals at their first court appearance in an effort to help mitigate punishment outcomes, and the results of the program evaluation have been published in Criminology & Public Policy.

School safety and moral panics

Utilizing data from Midwestern school districts collected as a part of a National Institute of Justice–funded project on the causes and consequences of school violence, I have conducted research examining the potential outcomes of policy responses amid a national moral panic over school safety.

Through collaboration with Dr. Finn Esbensen and Dr. Tim McCuddy, we have compiled our findings regarding students’ attitudes toward arming teachers in a report to participating schools. In addition, through various publications, we demonstrate that the majority of students opposed the idea of arming teachers, and the proposed policy might exacerbate fear among those with victimization experiences.

I have also examined how race and perceptions of fairness intersect to influence students’ attitudes on arming teachers.

Immigration and crime

In a sole–authored paper, I examine the role of immigrant entrepreneurship in revitalizing local communities and its connection to crime reduction across U.S. cities. My research using 2017 census and crime data for over 700 U.S. cities has found that immigrant business ownership plays an important role in the immigration and crime link. And more importantly, it appears that the net economic effect of immigration to communities may explain why immigrant populations contribute to lower rates of crime.