Abstract
This article examines the impact of Latino nativity and origin on the risk of arrest. Survey data are used to compare the odds of arrest within and between various U.S. race-ethnic groups over one decade. Net of legal, demographic, and social correlates of arrest in teen and young adult samples, Blacks consistently experience higher odds of arrest than other groups. Puerto Rican arrest risk approximates that of Blacks while foreign-born Latinos consistently experienced a lower arrest risk than Whites. This effect was nearly indistinguishable from that of U.S.-born Latinos. The study has implications for the life-course perspective in terms of how arrest correlates change for all groups over time. For Latinos, findings also inform acculturation and segmented assimilation perspectives.
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