Hispanics Numero Uno in Federal Prisons
09/07/2011
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Hispanic diversity hit a new high recently. Not only are Hispanics the largest minority group in the United States, but they are now the top jailbird population in federal prison so far this year as well.

America continues to be culturally enriched by immigration diversity.

Hispanics new majority sentenced to federal prison, Associated Press, September 6, 2011

More than half of all people sentenced to serve time in federal prison so far this year for felony crimes were Hispanic, a major demographic shift swollen by immigration offenses, according to a new government report released Tuesday.

Hispanics already outnumber all other ethnic groups sent to prison for committing federal felonies.

Hispanics reached a new milestone for the first time this year, making up the majority of all federal offenders in the first nine months of fiscal year 2011, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Hispanics comprised 50.3 percent of all people sentenced in that time period, blacks 19.7 percent and whites 26.4 percent.

In comparison, last year Hispanics made up just 16 percent of the whole U.S. population. 

The commission’s statistics also reveal that sentences for felony immigration crimes — which include illegal crossing and other crimes such as alien smuggling — were responsible for most of the increase in the number of Hispanics sent to prison over the last decade.

The demographic change in who is being sent to federal prison has already prompted debate among commissioners and experts studying the impact of expedited court hearings along the border.

“Statistics like this have to start drawing attention to this country’s immigration policies and what we’re doing, if this is one of the results,” said Fordham University Law School professor Deborah Denno, an expert on racial disparities in the criminal justice system. “The implications for Hispanics are huge when you think of the number of families affected by having their breadwinners put away for what in some cases would be considered a non-violent offense.”

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