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.
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Nativists Can’t Back Up Their Claims on Immigration and Crime
Social scientists have concluded that immigrants are far less likely than the native-born to commit serious criminal offenses or end up behind bars. More than one hundred years of research has firmly established this fact. Yet nativists still claim that undocumented immigrants pose a threat to public safety and… Read More
‘Sanctuary’ Policies Do Not Foster Crime, Research Shows
During its first ten months in office, the Trump administration has made aggressive immigration enforcement a priority. One of the areas in which this approach was crystalized was around so-called sanctuary jurisdictions—communities across the country that have adopted ordinances that explicitly curtail cooperation with the federal government regarding immigration… Read More
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