Document Type

Honors Paper

Advisor

Julia Kushigian

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This thesis examines the incarceration of Latina women in the United States through an intersectional lens that centers ethnicity, gender, and class, among other factors. While mass incarceration has been widely studied, Latina experiences are often overlooked or reduced to statistics, making their specific pathways into and through the criminal legal system largely invisible. This project argues that Latina incarceration is not simply the result of individual behavior, but is shaped by overlapping systems of structural inequality. Drawing on the interdisciplinary research of an array of scholars, recent government data and report, as well as observations from York Correctional Institution and work with the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice, this study begins with examining how practices such as the implementation of punitive policies and violent immigration enforcement have disproportionately criminalized Latina communities. It then analyzes key pathways into incarceration, including the school-to-prison pipeline, economic marginalization, and the prevalence of gender-based violence. It also examines experiences during incarceration and the barriers to reentry, showing how limited resources, stigma, and structural exclusion sustain cycles of disadvantage. Ultimately, this thesis calls for the implementation of more culturally responsive and gender-specific reforms, and emphasizes the need to center Latina voices in both research and policy.

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The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.