Immigrants and Crime

Immigrants and Crime Fact Sheet
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Immigrants and Crime Fact Sheet
Myth: Government response to reduce immigrants will reduce crime
Statistics indicate that more immigrants are living in the U.S than ever before. The percentage of immigrants compare to that of the locals remains negligible. As of 2012, up to 11.3 undocumented tourists lived and worked in the US (Spenkuch, 2013). Despite the rise in the number of undocumented tourists, the U.S, statistics indicate that criminal behavior is more prominent amongst the natives rather than immigrants (Bianchi, Buonanno & Pinotti, 2012; Sampson, 2008; Freilich & Addad, 2017). Thus, despite the government’s urge to reduce the number of immigrant flow in the country, security challenges should not be one of the excuses for the move.
Fact: Incarceration rates amongst natives is much higher than that of foreign-born populations
The graph indicates that contrary to what the society believes, the incarceration rates amongst native burns are much higher than that of immigrants. Identifying the number of the population that ends up in prison is a feasible mechanism to conclude the group that mostly engages in crime (Leerkes, Engbersen & Van der Leun, 2012). Accordingly, the graph indicates that 1.9% of immigrant men, as opposed to 3.2% of native men, were incarcerated in 2010.

The above graph shows the incarceration rates amongst immigrants and natives in every decade from 1980. Incarceration rate is a feasible mechanism to evaluate crime in a society
Graph retrieved from http://econofact.

org/are-immigrants-more-likely-to-commit-crimesLink of unemployment and crime rates
Unemployment rates have been used to make conclusions as to why a majority of immigrants engage in crime (Higgins, Gabbidon & Martin, 2010; Wadsworth, 2010 & MacDonald, Hipp & Gill, 2013). Immigrants face language and cultural barriers in the U.S. Subsequently, a majority have less formal education and limited formal social networks (Mastrobuoni, G., & Pinotti, 2015). Thus, securing of jobs is a challenge. However, the chart indicates that the difference in the unemployment rate for native-born and foreign-born is less than 1%. The variance applies to wage rates and types of jobs (Kubrin & Ishizawa, 2012). Foreign-born employees are more likely to settle for low paying jobs, and hence the conclusion that they are incapable of maintaining high living standards.

Graph comparing unemployment rates for both natives and foreign-born potential labor force in the U.S in 2012
Graph retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2013/foreign-born/home.htm
References
Bianchi, M., Buonanno, P., & Pinotti, P. (2012). Do immigrants cause crime?. Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(6), 1318-1347.
Freilich, J. D., & Addad, M. (2017). Migration, culture conflict, and crime. Routledge
Higgins, G. E., Gabbidon, S. L., & Martin, F. (2010). The role of race/ethnicity and race relations on public opinion related to the immigration and crime link. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(1), 51-56.
Kubrin, C. E., & Ishizawa, H. (2012). Why some immigrant neighborhoods are safer than others: Divergent findings from Los Angeles and Chicago. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 641(1), 148-173.
Leerkes, A., Engbersen, G., & Van der Leun, J. (2012). Crime among irregular immigrants and the influence of internal border control. Crime, Law and Social Change, 58(1), 15-38.
MacDonald, J. M., Hipp, J. R., & Gill, C. (2013). The effects of immigrant concentration on changes in neighborhood crime rates. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 29(2), 191-215.
Mastrobuoni, G., & Pinotti, P. (2015). Legal status and the criminal activity of immigrants. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(2), 175-206.
Sampson, R. J. (2008). Rethinking crime and immigration. Contexts, 7(1), 28-33.
Spenkuch, J. L. (2013). Understanding the impact of immigration on crime. American law and economics review, 16(1), 177-219.
Wadsworth, T. (2010). Is immigration responsible for the crime drop? An assessment of the influence of immigration on changes in violent crime between 1990 and 2000. Social Science Quarterly, 91(2), 531-553.