Immigration and School Threat?: Exploring the Significance of the Border

• NCJ Number: 307232
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 60 Issue: 6 Dated: 2023 Pages: 703-739
• Date Published: 2023
• Author(s): Janice Iwama; Anthony A. Peguero; Miner P. “Trey” Marchbanks III; John M. Eason; Jamilia Blake; Jienian Zhang
• Length: 37 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-CK-BX-0015
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

This report describes a study examining the relationship between immigration, school punishment, and place in schools near the U.S.-Mexico border, using a racial threat framework; the document lays out the study’s methodology, outcomes, and implications.

Abstract

The current study examines the relationship between immigration, school punishment, and place in schools near the U.S.-Mexico border using a racial threat framework. Given the consequences of the immigration-crime link and the growing perception of the U.S.-Mexico border as a crime-ridden place, this study explores how immigration within certain places may differentially impact outcomes of school punishment. Using Generalized Linear Modeling (GLM) with a logistic link function, the authors examine the relationship between immigration and school violence by probing variation in school punishment and juvenile justice referrals across Texas schools given their proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. The authors found that Texas schools located near the U.S.-Mexico border have lower juvenile justice and school discipline rates net other variables in comparison to Texas schools away from the border; they also observed a negative relationship between a rise in the immigrant student population and punishment in Texas. The current study highlights that the local context, such as proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, is significant when examining the racial threat perspective in school punishment and warrants further attention in future research. Publisher Abstract Provided