Document Type
Dissertation
Date of Award
12-2021
School/College
Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs (SOPA)
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Administration of Justice
Committee Co-Chairperson
Robert Mupier
Committee Member 1
Ashraf Mozayani
Committee Member 2
MIchael Adams
Committee Member 3
Gautam Nayer
Keywords
Education • Immigration • Limited English Proficiency • On-Campus Arrests • On-Campus Delinquency/Deviance
Abstract
This research is intended to examine the relationship between the enrollment of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in American high schools and the rate of delinquency on campus. While the stigma and general belief that immigrants and criminality are correlated has existed throughout American History, empirical research findings have generally indicated the inverse to be true and often find that immigrants engage in lower rates of delinquency in comparison to their non-immigrant counterparts. Previous work in the field has primarily identified immigrants by legal or technical categorization, primarily nativity and immigrant status. Fewer are the studies who identify this group through cultural variables, such as acculturation variables. With the intention of furthering the understanding of the proposed immigrant-crime nexus, this study seeks to add a unique and missing element to the current body of knowledge that is immigrant criminality – examining the role that Limited English Proficient (LEP) status plays on delinquency in high schools. Using a secondary data analysis, this study examines the impact that LEP enrollment has on the rates of delinquency in high schools in a multi-state analysis. The results of this study determine that the rate of LEP enrollment in a high school did not impact the rate of arrests or referrals on campus and LEP students are less likely than non-LEP students to be arrested or referred to law enforcement, The findings from this study yield insight into the understudied relationship between LEP students and delinquency across high schools in America as well as contribute to the ever-expanding field of immigrant crime schools in a multi-state analysis. The results of this study determine that the rate of LEP enrollment in a high school did not impact the rate of arrests or referrals on campus and LEP students are less likely than non-LEP students to be arrested or referred to law enforcement, The findings from this study yield insight into the understudied relationship between LEP students and delinquency across high schools in America as well as contribute to the ever-expanding field of immigrant crime.
Copyright
Copyright © for this work is retained by the author. Any documents and information presented are protected by copyright under US Copyright laws and are the property of the author. All Rights Reserved. For permission to use this content please contact the author or the Graduate School at Texas Southern University (graduate.school@tsu.edu).
Recommended Citation
Campos, Adrian Jesus, "Examining the Relationship Between LEP Status and Delinquency Amongst High Schools Across America" (2021). Dissertations (2016-Present). 30.
https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/dissertations/30