Latinas & Law Enforcement: The Impact of Fear of Deportation On Confidence in Law Enforcement and Willingness to Report Violent Crimes

Background & Purpose: One in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime (Black et al., 2011), and an emerging literature suggests that the growing population of immigrant women may be more vulnerable to IPV than non-immigrant women (Erez, Adelman & Gregory, 2009; Raj & Silverman, 2002). A number of socio-cultural and gender-political factors unique to Latinas – such as attitudes and norms about gender roles and the acceptability of violence, economic dependence, poor socioeconomic status, and social isolation – have been indicated to elevate this populations’ vulnerability to IPV (Bauer, Rodriguez, Quiroga, & Flores-Ortiz, 2000; Raj & Silverman, 2002). The criminal justice response is the primary response to IPV in the US;  for an undocumented Latina, fear of deportation and consequent separation from her children, fear of her partner’s deportation and loss of support, or fear of other family members’ deportation may prevent a victim of IPV from disclosing abuse to police (Bauer, et al., 2000; Moreno, 2007). This fear is particularly salient given the increase in stringent immigration policies, and enhanced enforcement of new and existing policies on immigration in the US. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between the fear of deportation and perceptions of law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the willingness to report violent crimes among Latina immigrants in the U.S. 

Research Hypotheses: It was hypothesized that Latinas with greater fear of deportation would report: 1) less confidence that police would not use excessive force; 2) less confidence that police would treat Latinos fairly; 3) less confidence that the courts would treat Latinos fairly; and 4) a lower willingness to report a violent crime to police. 

Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the 2008 Pew Hispanic Center survey of a disproportionate stratified nationally representative sample of Latino adults living in the U.S. The sample for this study consisted of 1,049 females. The mean age was 45; over 61% of the participants had a high school diploma/GED or lower; and 50.5% had an annual income of less than $30,000. Multivariate ordinal logistic regressions examined the relationship between fear of deportation (controlling for income, education, and citizenship status) and the dependent variables outlined in the research hypotheses.

Results: Controlling for income, education and citizenship status, Latina participants who had a greater fear of deportation reported significantly: 1) less confidence in law enforcement (OR=.90, p<.05); 2) less confidence that police would treat Latinos fairly (OR=.87, p<.01); 3) less confidence that the courts would treat Latinos fairly (OR=.87, p<.01); and 4) a lower willingness to report a violent crime (OR=.87, p<.01). 

Conclusions & Implications: Anti-immigration policies and increased deportations may create unsafe situations for Latinas who fear deportation because they avoid reporting violent crimes such as IPV. Social work practitioners can help address this issue educating Latinas about how to protect themselves and understand their rights when interacting with police and the criminal justice system, and by advocating for immigration reform that can help improve public safety and reduce fear among Latina immigrants.