Immigration and Crime: Taking Stock

This brief examines various dimensions of the immigration-crime relationship in the United States. It evaluates a range of theories and arguments asserting an immigration-crime link, reviews studies examining its nature and predictors, and considers the impacts of immigration policy. Synthesizing a diverse body of scholarship across many disciplinary fields, this brief is a comprehensive resource for researchers engaged in questions of linkages between crime and immigration, citizenship, and race/ethnicity, and for those seeking to separate fact from fiction on an issue of great scientific and social importance.

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Stereotypes, Fears, and Moral Panics -- Implications -- The Call for Research -- Structure and Organization -- References -- Chapter 2: Theoretical Perspectives on Immigration and Crime -- Macro-Level Theories of an Immigration-Crime Relationship -- Demographic Theories -- Economic Deprivation and Strain Theories -- Immigrant Economic Revitalization Theory -- Ethnic and Immigrant Enclaves Theory -- Cultural Theories -- Control Theories -- Micro-Level Theories of an Immigration-Crime Relationship -- Social Bonds Theory -- Self-Control Theory -- Peer Influence Theory -- General Strain Theory -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 3: From Theory to Empirics: Data Requirements for Studying Immigration and Crime -- Units of Analysis, Data, and Measures in Macro-level Research -- Units of Analysis -- Measuring Immigration -- Measuring Crime -- Data and Measures in Micro-level Studies -- Measuring Immigration -- Measuring Crime -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4: Immigration and Crime: What We Know and What Remains Unknown -- The Immigration-Crime Relationship Across Places -- Immigration Does Not Increase Crime -- Do Dimensions of Immigration Have Different Relationships with Crime? -- Does the Immigration-Crime Relationship Vary by Size of Place? -- Does the Immigration-Crime Relationship Depend on Crime Type? -- Is the Immigration-Crime Relationship Different in Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Research? -- How Does the Broader Context Affect the Immigration-Crime Relationship? -- Immigrant Status, Offending and Victimization: What We Know from Micro-Level Research -- Generational Status -- Critical Questions, Unresolved Issues, and New Directions for Immigration-Crime Research -- Accounting for Immigrant/Immigration Diversity -- The Importance of Broader Context.

This brief examines various dimensions of the immigration-crime relationship in the United States. It evaluates a range of theories and arguments asserting an immigration-crime link, reviews studies examining its nature and predictors, and considers the impacts of immigration policy. Synthesizing a diverse body of scholarship across many disciplinary fields, this brief is a comprehensive resource for researchers engaged in questions of linkages between crime and immigration, citizenship, and race/ethnicity, and for those seeking to separate fact from fiction on an issue of great scientific and social importance