Undocumented immigrants may actually make American communities safer – not more dangerous – new study finds
Undocumented immigrants may actually make American communities safer – not more dangerous – new study finds
Statistical models debunk claims by Trump and others that undocumented immigration into the U.S. increases crime, building on a litany of past research.
theconversation.com
Undocumented immigration does not increase the violent crime rate in U.S. metropolitan areas. In fact, it may reduce property crime rates. These are the key findings from our recently published article in the Journal of Crime and Justice, co-authored by Yulin Yang, James Bachmeier and Mike Maciag.
Research shows that the American communities where immigrants make their homes are more often improved by their presence than harmed by it. Immigrants bring social, cultural and economic activity to the places they live. That makes these places more vital and safer, not more dangerous.
Using a statistical method called regression analysis to examine the data, we found that as the size of the undocumented population increases, the property crime rate decreases, on average. And the size of the undocumented population in a metropolitan area tends to have no impact on the violent crime rate.