A comprehensive new study examining crime trends across thousands of U.S. neighborhoods has found no correlation between the presence of undocumented immigrants and increases in crime rates. The research, published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, utilized data from over 11,500 neighborhoods in diverse U.S. cities between 2010 and 2018.
Researchers observed that neighborhoods experiencing growth in their undocumented populations actually saw a decrease in property crime and no significant change in overall violent crime during the study period. This contradicts assertions frequently made by political figures, including those in the Trump administration, that undocumented immigrants pose a significant threat to public safety.
While the study did note an increase in robberies in these same neighborhoods, the authors theorize this could be linked to the economic realities faced by undocumented immigrants. Many lack access to traditional banking services and operate more frequently with cash, potentially making them more likely targets for robbery rather than perpetrators.
"Consistent with the research base more generally, unauthorized immigration does not drive crime rates in U.S. neighborhoods," stated Charis Kubrin, a professor of Criminology, Law and Society at the University of California, Irvine, and the study's lead author. Derek Christopher, another author from Stanford University, highlighted that while broader studies have examined immigration and crime at metropolitan and state levels, this research specifically addresses concerns about neighborhood-level impacts.
The findings challenge the narrative that links increased undocumented immigration to heightened crime, a message that has been used to justify stringent enforcement and deportation campaigns. Kubrin suggested that such policies might be ineffective at improving public safety and could even be detrimental. She added that flawed enforcement practices can erode trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, and cause trauma to families, including U.S. citizen children, when parents are deported.
"It's well beyond time to rethink immigration enforcement in this country," Kubrin said. "These policies are largely ineffective at enhancing public safety and may actually do more harm than good."