The Consequences of Expungement Policy on Immigration Outcomes
Co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Nearly half of the states in the U.S. have recently passed laws automating criminal record expungement. However, an unintended consequence of these laws is that non-citizens no longer have access to records they are required to produce in immigration proceedings when facing removal or seeking a change in legal status. Sociologist Sarah Lageson will investigate how court actors experience automated expungement policies and the impact of these policies on removal outcomes for non-citizens facing deportation. She will conduct interviews and participant observation and will analyze data from the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse, the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for her study.