Immigration and Crime

Immigration and Crime

Research has consistently shown that immigration does not increase crime rates in the United States and many studies suggest that immigrants are less likely than citizens to commit crimes. We work hard to promote the truth about immigration and its impact on public safety, and dispel popular misconceptions surrounding immigrant crime.

Deporting Immigrants Does Not Lower Crime, According to Study

Deporting Immigrants Does Not Lower Crime, According to Study

The mass deportation of immigrants from the United States under the Secure Communities program has had no appreciable impact on local crime rates. Why? Because most of the immigrants being deported do not have serious criminal records. That is the simple yet powerful conclusion of a recent study… Read More

Statement for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security on

Statement for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security on “The Effect of Sanctuary City Policies on the Ability to Combat the Opioid Epidemic”

The statement includes our report, The Criminalization of Immigration in the United States, which details empirical data demonstrating that immigration is not linked to higher crime rates. Read More

Statement for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on

Statement for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on “Criminal Aliens Released by the Department of Homeland Security”

Our empirical research shows that there is abundant evidence that immigration is not linked to higher crime rates and that immigration is associated with lower crime rates and immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be serious criminals. Read More

The Real Victims of a Reckless and Lawless Immigration Policy: Families and Survivors Speak Out on the Real Cost of this Administration's Policies

The Real Victims of a Reckless and Lawless Immigration Policy: Families and Survivors Speak Out on the Real Cost of this Administration’s Policies

The statement shares empirical data which shows that immigration is associated with lower crime rates and immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be serious criminals. Read More

Massacre at Pittsburgh Synagogue Tied to Anti-Refugee Sentiment

Massacre at Pittsburgh Synagogue Tied to Anti-Refugee Sentiment

In a world of instantaneous news, the nation learned of the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday in Pittsburgh almost in real time. As the details emerged, we discovered that 11 Jewish worshippers had been murdered by Robert Bowers, a self-described anti-Semite with a… Read More

Government Playing Fast and Loose With ‘Gang Member’ Label

Government Playing Fast and Loose With ‘Gang Member’ Label

There is no doubt that criminal gangs operating in the United States adversely impact the lives of many people living in communities throughout the country. However, in a nefarious act, President Trump is attempting to cast young people fleeing Central America as gang members—which is simply untrue. As the Immigrant… Read More

Lawmakers Are Blaming Undocumented Immigrants for the Opioid Epidemic

Lawmakers Are Blaming Undocumented Immigrants for the Opioid Epidemic

The scapegoating of immigrants for crime in the United States was on full display at a February 15 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing was devoted to exploring the ways in which “sanctuary” jurisdictions allegedly impede law-enforcement efforts to control the opioid epidemic. That argument is a… Read More

A New Report Shows the Continuing Overcriminalization of Immigrants

A New Report Shows the Continuing Overcriminalization of Immigrants

After more than a century of research and analysis, it has become quite clear that immigrants are far less prone to criminal conduct than the native-born population. And yet researcher John R. Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center has recently claimed to have found evidence that exactly… Read More

U.S. Government Skews Terrorism Data to Add Fuel to the Anti-Immigrant Fire

U.S. Government Skews Terrorism Data to Add Fuel to the Anti-Immigrant Fire

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report which comes to a rather predictable conclusion: most of the “international terrorists” in the United States—as opposed to the domestic ones—were born in another country. At one level, this comparison is about as obvious… Read More

How Criminalizing Communities of Color Has Driven the Anti-Immigrant Narrative

How Criminalizing Communities of Color Has Driven the Anti-Immigrant Narrative

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, taken away Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans in the United States, and staged raids of 7-Elevens around the country to crack down on undocumented workers and their employers. In short, President Trump is living… Read More

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