Where You Come from Counts

Geographic Origin Disparities in the Punishment of Noncitizens in Texas Courts

Bibliographic Data

ID21394486
AuthorsAvery E Warner (0009-0005-6465-5975, University of Wisconsin–Madison, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-27
Publication date2026-06-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00380253.2026.2682758
OpenAlexW7165532830
LanguageEN
References cited60

Scholarship increasingly recognizes citizenship as a key axis of inequality in the criminal justice system, yet the intersection of geographic origin with noncitizen punishment remains underexplored. The current study addresses this gap by examining the role of region and country of citizenship in criminal case processing using data on all arrests in Texas from 2006 to 2018. Region-level analyses reveal that harsher outcomes experienced by noncitizens in Texas courts are attributable to Mexican and Central American citizenship, even after accounting for legal status. Novel, granular analyses by country of citizenship uncover additional within-region heterogeneity, demonstrate punitive outcomes for defendants from Southeast Asian countries, and suggest legal status operates differently across national origin in Texas courts. Results highlight the importance of the crimmigration-geographic origin nexus in shaping the case processing of noncitizens, underscoring the need for more nuanced analyses of noncitizen inequality in the criminal legal system and beyond

Deportation · Ethnic group · Immigration · Punishment (psychology) · Punitive damages · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Jury Decision Making Processes