Andrew Friedman

Immigration Reduces Crime

Say what?

That's right, immigration seems to reduce crime. In Saturday's New York Times, Harvard Sociologist Robert J. Sampson published an op-ed entitled Open Doors Don't Invite Crime in which he described his research into violence, crime and immigration.

Professor Sampson found that immigrants were significantly less likely than their native-born counterparts to commit violent acts. For example, he found that first generation immigrants were 45% less likely to commit violence than were third generation Americans, once family and neighborhood backrounds were adjusted for. Pretty interesting, huh?

This study is important because immigrants are all too often equated with terrorists. Immigrants are also blamed for everything from a lack of good jobs to irresponsible landlords who illegally overcrowd their buildings.

This research makes clear and concrete what is self-evident to anyone who lives in a community that has experienced increased immigration - immigrants make our neighborhoods and cities more dynamic, safer, and more prosperous.

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Posted at 8:56 AM, Mar 13, 2006 in Immigration
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