The alleged link between immigration and crime

Although immigration has always been present throughout the history of the US and has contributed in many ways to the socioeconomic development of the nation, it is at the same time a very controversial sector, which generates political debates and divisions among the local population.

This is because the immigration sector also includes foreigners who enter the country undocumented by crossing the borders without prior authorization. In fact, irregular migration is quite a contentious issue and, on many occasions, it is wrongly related to the local crime rate, even if this is not always the case.

Let’s look at some important facts:

• In August 2020, a Gallup poll revealed that 42% of the American population still thinks immigration is related to crime.
• In late 2020, a comprehensive research conducted by PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) revealed that the presence of undocumented immigrants does NOT increase the local crime rate.

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What contributes to the relationship between crime and immigration?

Although several studies and research show that immigration is not intrinsically related to crime, there is still a part of the population that supports that premise, even if it does not come from reliable sources. Then, it is important to ask, where does this conjecture come from?

Let’s look at some important facts:

• A June 2021 study reveals that restrictive and strict policies regarding immigration come primarily from misinformation.
  In other words, the study shows that when local citizens do not know the real impact of immigration on the economy and culture, they tend to support restrictive and limiting ideas.
• In many instances, anti-immigrant ideals or the connection between immigrants and crime essentially come from political leaders who propose to restrict immigration, but whose assertions rarely have corroborative support.

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The criminalization of immigration has not always been around

An expert on the subject and professor at Ohio State University, César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, recently published a book called “Crimmigration Law”, which exposes the history of the criminalization of immigration and explains that it has not always been present.

According to Garcia, the ideas that connect immigration with crime began to appear in the US just when immigration law and crime law came together. In other words, previously, the country used to handle deportation and irregular immigration cases separately from crime cases, regardless of whether it involved a foreigner or not.

However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cases of immigrants who had committed or participated in crimes became one and the same, which caught the attention of the American population and naturally created political ideals that wrongly connect immigration with crime.

It is worth mentioning that Garcia states that the criminalization of immigration seems to be focused primarily on Latin American undocumented foreigners. In fact, he states, “There are people from Canada, Australia and Western Europe who come here legally and then overstay their visas. But when you look at the statistics, the people who are locked up and deported for visa overstays are overwhelmingly Latin American.”

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This is the best time to start your immigration journey!

If you, a family member, or a friend need help with an immigration case, then feel free to contact Motion Law Immigration today and schedule a FREE Consultation with one of our expert immigration attorneys. Our team will be happy to guide you through your immigration journey in the US.

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