Eric Prado

LEPS 500

Immigration and Violent Crime: A Critical Assessment

Ousey and Kubrin bring up the relationship between immigration and crime rates in the

US. It has been a long and common misconception that crime rates are more prevalent in

communities that have higher immigrant populations. The immigrant population has been

commonly linked with low income communities. According to Ousey and Kubrin (2009), posits

a negative relationship between immigration and crime focuses on the levels of social capital and

informal social control that tend to characterize communities populated by immigrants. Ethnic

enclaves may encourage cultural preservation, promote or maintain family ties and social

networks, provide employ- ment and entrepreneurial opportunities, and bolster informal social

control, all of which help curb crime.

The two arguments posed in this article is how it is a common misconception that the

immigrant population are correlated with higher crime rates. The second argument is that the

immigrant population hold their own cultural values, therefore, are the reason for lower crime

rates. It is unfortunate that crime rates seems more inflated in communities that have higher

immigrant populations. I find Ousey and Kubrin to have strong arguments. I believe it is a

common issue that crime rates are higher in lower income neighborhoods. I also believe the

immigrant population migrate to these low income communities due to affordable housing, and

employment available in the working class and service related industries. Although the

immigrant population is higher, this does not mean that immigrants are the root of all crime.

There are many cases where gangsters do come to the United States to commit heinous crimes,

but it does not prove beneficial to categorize one group as criminals. Upon reading Are

Immigrants Prone to Crime and Terrorism?by Krishnadev Calamur, It is easy to see how the
United States can correlate how immigrants are connected with terrorism.

Omar Mateen killed 49 people in a gay night club in Orlando, Florida. Donald Trump

made the statement, The only reason the killer was in America in the first place is because we

allowed his family to come here. Donald Trumps statement may not be receptive to the general

population, but yes the United States did let this individuals family in the US. This individual

had radical views and his own belief about a certain group of people and his acts were of

domestic terrorism in nature. The more powerful statement that Calamur included in his article is

Second-generation immigrants typically have higher crime rates than first-generation

immigrants. In the US context, however, most second-generation immigrants continue to enjoy

lower crime rates than the native-born population. In stark contrast, research findings in

European countries indicate that some second-generation immigrant groups have crime rates that

drastically exceed those of the native-born population.

I firmly believe that second generation immigrants are major contributors to higher

crime rates. They are the children and grandchildren of immigrants that decided to settle in

America. I believe the American culture is one that influences these second-generation

immigrants to fall in a revolving door of crime. In the Atlantic, Muslims were believed to be the

reason for terrorist acts. Calamur states that second generation immigrants are the sole reason of

attacks that the US has been experiencing. I find this to be a strong and valid argument.

In both articles, immigrants as a whole are viewed as criminals. I agree with the articles

and how they are more specific. Both articles focus in the differences in generations of

immigrants. First generation immigrants are not the sole cause of the spike in crime. It is the

second generation that contributes to major crimes in the US. They are the ones who contribute

to the jail population in our correctional system. Low income communities have higher crime
rates. It is common that the working class immigrant communities make up the majority of the

population in these communities. This does not necessarily mean immigrants are the sole

contributors of crime.

Reference:
Calamur, K. (n.d.). Are Immigrants Prone to Crime and Terrorism? The Atlantic.

Ousey, G., & Kubrin, C. (2009). Exploring the Connection between Immigration and Violent

Crime Rates in U.S. Cities, 19802000. Social Problems, 56(3), 447-473.