Abstract

This chapter examines the role of criminal justice institutions in punishing immigrant “illegality” in the United States. Indeed, the immigration enforcement and criminal justice systems are so intertwined, that scholars refer to their integration as the crimmigration system. Documenting legislative and administrative developments since the 1980s, the chapter argues that jails and police agencies are essential to the immigration enforcement apparatus. It further argues that the crimmigration system does not just deport or exclude people, it also serves a productive function by contributing to Latinos’ racialization and social marginality in the United States. Local police contribute to these processes by criminalizing and punishing immigrants through their day to day practices.