New Report Debunks Anti-immigration Argument

A report released yesterday shows that immigrants don’t commit a disproportionate amount of crimes and that immigration is in fact good for the United States.

One of the arguments the anti-immigrant activists, groups and radio commentators often use against immigrants was debunked in a report yesterday. On an almost daily basis, anti-immigrant and nativist forces highlight crimes committed by immigrants while ignoring those of white U.S. born citizens. This is one technique they often employ to further their anti-immigration agenda--giving the appearance that the commission of crimes by immigrants is at both an epidemic and disproportionate level.

The new report from Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) had this to say:

Immigrants are far less likely than the average U.S. native to commit crime in California, according to this issue of California Counts. For example, among men ages 18-40 – the age group most likely to commit crime – the U.S.-born are 10 times more likely than the foreign-born to be in jail or prison. Even among noncitizen men from Mexico ages 18-40 – a group disproportionately likely to have entered the United States illegally – the authors find very low rates of institutionalization. Such findings suggest that longstanding fears of immigration as a threat to public safety are unjustified.

An analysis done by Time Magazine today showed that in addition to no correlation being shown between immigrants and crime, the new report and another recent one from Immigration Policy Center showed that immigration is actually a benefit.

A second study, released earlier this month by Washington-based nonprofit Immigration Policy Center, found that on the national level

U.S.-born men ages 18-39 are five times more likely to be incarcerated than are their foreign-born peers. And, while the number of illegal immigrants in the country doubled between 1994 and 2005, violent crime declined by nearly 35% and property crimes by 26% over the same period.

The PPIC even determined that on average, between 2000 and 2005, cities such as Los Angeles that took in a higher share of recent immigrants saw their crime rates fall further than cities with a lower influx of illegals.

One fact remains, regardless of the undeniable empirical evidence shown in this new report, the opponents to immigration like FAIR, ALIPAC and their allies will still perpetuate misinformation based on hate to further their own agenda.

You can read the Time Magazine article online by linking here and the full report from Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) by linking here

A link to the report can also be found on the left hand side bar of this site under “Publications”.

Posted in: Crimes,immigrants,Immigration,Public Policy Institute of California