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Israel Hernandez

Professor McQuillin

Critical Issues in Law Enforcement and Public Safety

October 2, 2015

IMMIGRATION AND CRIME

The popular opinion that the immigrants furnish a high percentage of criminals

rests upon the belief that this country is used as a hiding-place by fugitive criminals from

all quarters of the world. This comment, which one could attribute to one of many

politicians of today, is over one hundred years old (Hourwich, 1912). The belief that

immigration leads to a direct increase in crime rates is not new, yet after multiple studies

and consistent results, there is no evidence to support this claim. In fact, recent studies

have identified an inverse correlation between immigration and criminality (Ousey &

Kubrin, 2009; Wadsworth, 2010). The idea is that increased immigration leads to a

decrease in violent crime rates for the following reasons: 1) immigrant selection effects;

2) social capital and family structure; 3) immigrants are hard working and fill important

roles in niche economies geared toward certain services or products.

Evidence suggest that immigrants are highly motivated individuals who choose to

come to the United States to pursue employment and educational opportunities that are

not available to them in their home countries. These immigrants are willing to work hard

in pursuit of a better life and tend not to engage in activities that would jeopardize their

achievements (Ousey & Kubrin, 2009). Immigrants tend to be hard working and

motivated individuals willing to fill low-skill jobs that are passed up by native workers.

These labor-intensive jobs result in lower rates of unemployment and underemployment

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in immigrant neighborhoods, which has shown to reduce levels of violence (Wadsworth,

2010).

The evidence supports the idea that immigration may improve family structures

by strengthening traditional two-parent households, which allow for stronger control and

informal supervision. This increased family stability provides protective factors against

criminality (Ousey & Kubrin, 2009). Additionally, the greater concentration of

immigrants in neighborhoods can act as a protective factor against violence by

encouraging cultural preservation, community integration, promote family ties and social

networks, and provide employment opportunities, all of which deter criminality and also

shield against the strains of poverty and unemployment. Finally, the notion that

immigrant neighborhoods are filled with crime creates pressure on law enforcement to

respond to these perceived high crime areas. As a result, a greater police presence in these

neighborhoods leads to a decrease in crime in the same areas (Ousey & Kubrin, 2009;

Wadsworth, 2010; MacDonald, 2012).

In sum, there is little empirical support for the belief that immigration results in an

increase in crime. In fact, evidence suggests that immigrants tend to be motived people

who endure the arduous process of immigrating to the United States searching for

opportunities that are not available in their native countries. In doing so they usually

concentrate in enclaves that provide support and networking opportunities, which in turn

lead to increase supervision, stronger family structures, and decreased crime.

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References

Hourwich, I.A. (1912). Immigration and Crime. American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 17,
No. 4, 478-490.

Macdonald, J., Hipp, J., & Gill, C. (2012). The Effects of Immigrant Concentration on
Changes in Neighborhood Crime Rates. Journal of Quantitative Criminology J Quant
Criminal, 191-215.

Ousey, G., & Kubrin, C. (2009). Exploring the Connection between Immigration and
Violent Crime Rates in U.S. Cities, 19802000. Social Problems, 447-473.

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, 531-553.