Latinos and the Criminal Justice System

The following reports explore how Latinos are impacted by the justice system. Safety and Justice: Latinos and Immigrants examines the overuse of local jails and its effects on Latinos and noncitizens. The website presents evidence-based policy solutions for reducing jail populations. TRPI also partnered with Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ) to compile existing digital publications on Latinos, crime and the justice system which CSJ used in a 2014 comprehensive report.

Photo: iStock/MivPiv

Building Trust between Media and Immigrant Communities

TRPI has done extensive research on media coverage and immigrant communities. In 2018, TRPI undertook a multi-faceted effort to promote engagement between immigrant communities and news organizations to produce improved news coverage and help those communities express their interests. With support from the California Community Foundation, the Institute convened several events that brought together journalists, public officials and community representatives, including a roundtable on the 2020 census.

Creating Tax Equality for Immigrants

A TRPI report explores how exclusions in the American tax system leave immigrant taxpayers and nearly two million children, 85 percent of them U.S. citizens, out of critical poverty-fighting tax credits. In order to achieve Biden’s ambitious goal of halving child poverty, the federal government must address this exclusion as well as the broken IRS processes for obtaining and maintaining an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which these families use to pay taxes.

Photo: istock/P_Wei

U.S.-Mexico Relations

The following digital publications were curated by the U.S.-Mexico Network of the University of Southern California. The network’s Imagining 2024 project is designed to provide readers a quick overview of key issues in US-Mexico relations – the background of the issue, its current state, where we ought to be by 2024, and how to get there. Topics include:

  • Clean Energy and Intelligent Interconnections
  • Economy and Trade
  • Health Care System Complementarity
  • Mexico and the Mexican Community in the United States
  • Public Diplomacy: A “European” Solution to Mexico’s Image Problem
  • Security Cooperation between the United States and Mexico

Photo: istock/filipefrazao

Children of DAPA

Providing key evidence in the federal court battle over President Obama’s executive action on immigration, this joint USC/UCLA report assess research from many fields about the impact of growing up with an unauthorized immigrant parent and the life-altering benefits of legalization. The report was published April 6, 2015 in conjunction with the filing of an amicus brief by educational organizations and children’s rights advocates who utilized the report to argue that the public interest and fairness are best served by safeguarding the American children of unauthorized immigrants.
Research Report | Press Release | Amicus Brief

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TRPI Research Archives

TRPI is the successor to the think tank of the same name that for 25 years promoted informed policy making on issues affecting Latino communities.

See the archives »