The consequences of an unequal and unjust criminal legal system are pervasive and destructive to every aspect of our society. In particular, the US has and continues to maintain a legacy of an unjust criminal legal system that disproportionately implicates people based on their race, class, gender, immigration status, sexual orientation, and location. With this in mind, this initiative advances research on the mechanisms that produce and maintain inequities within the criminal legal system and its broader consequences on society. Specifically, this group facilitates a platform for scholars to develop new and ongoing studies across these domains while supporting their efforts to secure needed resources.
Currently, the Policing Enforcement and Justice Working Group is conducting research exploring racial and ethnic profiling by state and local law enforcement. The working group was awarded a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation for support of their project, "Ethnic Profiling Under the Auspices of Community Safety", for the 2023-2025 time period. This research investigates the effect of 287(g) agreements on ethnic profiling of Hispanics in traffic stops by local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina.
For questions, please contact Dr. Joaquin Rubalcaba at jrubalca@email.unc.edu.
Recent Publication
DOJ Intervention and the Checkpoint Shift: Profiling Hispanic Motorists under the 287(g) Program
By: Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba, Alberto Ortega, and Prentiss A. Dantzler
The article examines how law enforcement agencies in North Carolina altered their policing behaviors in response to a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into civil rights violations by the Alamance County Sheriff's Office. Analyzing traffic stop data from 2010 to 2013, the study reveals that agencies participating in the federal 287(g) immigration enforcement program—designed to address serious crimes by unauthorized immigrants—shifted their tactics when facing potential DOJ scrutiny. While reducing visible stops of Hispanic motorists for minor traffic offenses, these agencies increased stops at checkpoints, where discriminatory practices are harder to detect. This policing shift, driven by the threat of investigation, ultimately perpetuates racial disparities, disproportionately affecting Hispanic motorists.
Researchers
Alberto Ortega
Dr. Alberto Ortega is an Assistant Professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He is a member of the Policing Enforcement and Justice working group at the Cook Center.
JoaquĂn Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba
Faculty Affiliate; Policing Enforcement and Justice
Assistant Professor, UNC Chapel Hill
Participation in DITE: Cohort 11/12 Fellow
As an assistant professor in the Department of Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, JoaquĂn Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba’s research examines the intersection of health, labor, and education economics and contemporary policy issues that generate disparities along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, immigration status, and class. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New Mexico as a RWJF doctoral fellow and is affiliated with the Native American Budget and Policy Institute. Dr. Rubalcaba is also a faculty fellow at the Carolina Population Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he explores the effects of public policy on the overall socioeconomic well-being of immigrant communities, including issues like labor dynamics in mixed-status households, local policing practices targeting migrant communities, and health outcomes.
Prentiss Dantzler
Prentiss Dantzler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Founding Director of the Housing Justice Lab within the School of Cities at the University of Toronto (UofT). He also holds affiliations with the Infrastructure Institute, the Centre for Global Social Policy, and the Graduate Department of Geography and Planning at UofT. As an interdisciplinary community-engaged scholar, Dantzler’s work focuses on how and why neighborhoods change and how community members, institutions, and policy actors create and react to those changes. Dantzler received his Ph.D. in Public Affairs along with a M.S. in Community Development from Rutgers University-Camden. He also holds an M.P.A. (Urban and Regional Planning & GIS) from West Chester University and a B.S. (Energy, Business and Finance) from Penn State University.
