Understanding Public Perceptions of Immigrant Criminality
Conference Year
January 2019
Abstract
The rhetoric surrounding immigration in the United States has grown
increasingly divided in recent years. One anti-immigration argument that seems to
arise a great deal is that immigrants are criminals and bring higher rates of crime to
the communities they reside in. However, existing data and literature on this subject
consistently shows that a higher population of foreign-born individuals does not
increase crime rates of communities into which they settle; in some cases, these
locations may have even lower crime rates after the arrival of newcomers. Despite
these realities on the ground, the discussion within popular culture and media
remains focused on illegality and criminality and has far-reaching consequences,
affecting national policy decisions and influencing the ways in which much of the
American population views immigration. Although immigrants and refugees from
many different origins are often portrayed as criminals, this project will focus on
Latinx immigrants and the “Latino Threat” narrative specifically.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Pablo Bose
Secondary Mentor Name
Eleanor Miller, Maeve Eberhardt
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
College of Arts and Sciences
Program/Major
Global Studies
Primary Research Category
Social Sciences
Understanding Public Perceptions of Immigrant Criminality
The rhetoric surrounding immigration in the United States has grown
increasingly divided in recent years. One anti-immigration argument that seems to
arise a great deal is that immigrants are criminals and bring higher rates of crime to
the communities they reside in. However, existing data and literature on this subject
consistently shows that a higher population of foreign-born individuals does not
increase crime rates of communities into which they settle; in some cases, these
locations may have even lower crime rates after the arrival of newcomers. Despite
these realities on the ground, the discussion within popular culture and media
remains focused on illegality and criminality and has far-reaching consequences,
affecting national policy decisions and influencing the ways in which much of the
American population views immigration. Although immigrants and refugees from
many different origins are often portrayed as criminals, this project will focus on
Latinx immigrants and the “Latino Threat” narrative specifically.