There is a tradition from Rav Chaim Volozhiner that America will be the last galut and the Jews there will never be persecuted as Jews. Of course, this does not mean that some Jews will not be persecuted for other reasons as in Argentina., where many Jews “disappeared” because they were leftists. During the Thirties pro-Nazi groups and individuals (e.g. Henry Ford ym”s and Father Coughlin ym”s) were active and vociferous. Polls showed widespread anti-Semitism. Yet American institutions held so far as Jews were concerned. The internment of Japanese-Americans was indeed reprehensible but nowhere near a holocaust. Since then America has changed greatly. Moreover, the right wing is increasing philo-Semitic as they are starting to remember the source of traditional American values and the left is ideological incapable of persecuting groups per se (although there might be “anti-discrimination’ actions against Jews, as well as other religious people, who do not want to service same-sex “marriages”). The great danger to American Jews today is assimilation. This is a silent self-imposed holocaust.
As for Orthodox Jews receiving stiff sentences for “petty” crimes, this is not limited to any ethnic or religious group. The Federal sentencing guidelines enacted after major fraud scandals
have led to Draconian white-collar sentences. However, the pendulum seems to be swinging back as almost everyone agrees that America is over-criminalized and should not have such a high percentage of citizens behind bars.