The Sentencing Project: New Study Shows Immigration Reduces Violent Crime

During the 1990s immigration rates reached record levels, leading to speculation about the relationship between immigration and crime. Using data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report and U.S. Census Bureau, Tim Wadsworth, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His study shows that cities that experienced higher influxes of foreign-born and new immigrant populations also experienced lower rates of homicides and robberies. Specifically, Wadsworth concludes that after considering other factors, growth among immigrants was responsible for roughly 9.3 percent of the decline of homicides and 22.2 percent of the decrease in robbery rates. He attributes this to what is referred to as the "healthy immigrant thesis," which points to protective cultural and neighborhood factors often found in immigrant communities and families. Immigrants tend to be healthy, well-adjusted, motivated individuals and immigrant communities often buffer against the strains of poverty, assimilation and crime. In addition, Wadsworth draws on social disorganization theory. From this view, to the extent that immigrant communities produce protective factors in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, the effects of their presence may spill over to the native population by enhancing overall stability. 

This study is timely given the recent immigration legislation in Arizona giving local police the authority to question individuals they suspect are in the country illegally. Given that discussions of immigration and crime have focused on anti-immigrant discourse, this research provides policy makers with evidence that contradicts the recent rhetoric about the harmful relationship between immigration and crime.

Tim Wadsworth.  (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, Vol. 91:2.