From Both Near and Far: Examining the Diverse Regions of Origin for Immigration and Its Relationship with Crime Across United States Communities, 2015

Abstract

Despite a robust literature examining how immigration impacts community rates of crime, only a handful of studies have explored the heterogeneity of the foreign-born population. Using data for the year 2015 for over 1,000 incorporated census places in the United States, we examine how the diverse regional origins of immigrants from Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa are associated with community rates of crime. Findings reveal that (1) immigration is negatively associated with violent and property crime and (2) these negative associations are stronger – more protective – in places with more diverse immigrant populations. Moreover, (3) region-specific immigration is either not associated or negatively associated with crime, but (4) varies in magnitude in important ways, suggesting that immigration differs in its relationship with crime depending on sending region.