Migration and crime: relationship and policy implications

Migration and Crime

Immigration is one of the major issues that attracted significant attention in the United States, especially because of the increase in security concerns in the country and throughout the world. The significance of this issue is demonstrated in the role immigration policies played in the recent presidential campaigns. Additionally, international migration has found its way to the forefront of security policies, agendas and issues in the United States. As the number of immigrants to the United States has increased rapidly in recent years, the perception of immigration as a security threat has also developed. Apart from attracting concerns from policymakers, the relationship between migration and crime has also been the subject of news publications and opinion pieces. For instance, Rick Gladstone recently published an opinion piece in the New York Times to demonstrate that there is no link between migration and crime in the United States.

Article Analysis

The United States has witnessed anti-immigrant backlashes in the recent past based on the perceptions that foreigners (immigrants) cause crimes and other problems (Gladstone, 2016). Despite the increase of these backlashes and concerns, Gladstone (2016) states that statistical studies in the United States show that immigrants are more law-abiding residents than natives despite of their education, race or class. Therefore, immigrants are usually utilized as scapegoats on the issue of crime despite the lack of concrete evidence to demonstrate any causal link between migration and crime in the country. Based on the findings of a recent study that utilized FBI data, census data, and other statistical data, the incarceration rates of native-born Americans are considerably higher than those of migrants (Gladstone, 2016). These findings support the results of previous researches for more than a century that have indicated that there is no link between migration and crime in the United States.

While immigrants have always been targeted by the public and policymakers, most of them are not criminals as shown by the commonly accepted definitions of this term. In this article, Gladstone (2016) argues that there is no link between migration and crime simply because immigrants come to the United States to work hard rather than to commit crimes. This is essentially means that the reason for the less incarceration rates among immigrants as compared to those of native-born Americans is attributable to the fact that they work harder than native-born Americans. Despite the lack of substantial evidence, the perception that immigrants commit crimes has continued to thrive over the years.

This article highlights the debate and controversies that have dominated policy making initiatives in the United States regarding immigration and crime. According to Morawetz & Das (2009), concerns on whether local police officers should engage in the enforcement of federal immigration law has generated numerous controversies and debates in the current political climate. The controversy is largely fueled by the perception that there is causal link between migration and crime as highlighted in the article. Gladstone (2016) recognizes these perceptions and their impact on immigration policies though current statistical evidence refutes claims that migration is strongly linked to crime.

Even though Gladstone (2016) provides wrote a good piece on the perceived link between migration and crime, the article did not consider some aspects of immigration that has fueled these perceptions. One of the missing elements in the article on this issue is the violation of immigration rules, which has played a critical role in shaping perceptions of the link between migration and crime. Some immigrants come to the United States by violating existing immigration policies and laws, which contributes to heightened concerns on crime rates among these people. While the status of immigrants in the United States has changed significantly in the recent past, the change does not provide a loophole for immigrants to enter the country illegally. In this case, the outright violation of immigration policies by some immigrants who enter the country is considered a criminal offense in itself. The violation of immigration policies when entering the United States has in turn acted as the basis of deportation. Actually, permanent immigrant residents have been the subject of deportation due to criminal offenses, which was enhanced by the enactment of AEDPA and IIRIA in 1996 (Morawetz, 2000). The significance and role of immigration policies should have been considered in this article when examining the link between migration and crime.

The second important element in the consideration of the relationship between migration and crime is the United States-Mexico border, which has been the subject of most immigration debates and policy initiatives. Curry et al. (2012) states that the number of agents deployed in America's northern border including the U.S.-Mexico border has increased significantly over the past few years i.e. since 9/11 terror attacks. This increase has been prompted by the ever-growing security threats posed by illegal immigrants to the United States. The extent of law enforcement in the borders is an important consideration when analyzing the link between migration and crime. In the article, Gladstone (2016) does not include this consideration but only focuses on existing statistical data on migration and crime. The inclusion of this element in the consideration could have helped in determining whether the decreased rate of crime among immigrants is partly influenced by enhanced security measures along the northern border.

While the article does not include these important considerations, its findings are supported by other publications that examine this issue. Riley (2015) argued that studies that date back to more than a century have shown that immigrants are less likely to engage in criminal activities and be incarcerated regardless of their nationality and legal status in the United States. According to a recent report by the Immigration Policy Center, the number of illegal immigrant population in the U.S. has tripped between 1990 and 2013 (Riley, 2015). During the same period, statistics by the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicate that the rate of violent crimes in the country has decreased by 48%. The decline has also occurred in other crimes include murder, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. Immigrants also account for the lowest incarceration rates among young men for every ethnic group.

Law enforcement officers have fueled perceptions that there is a link between migration and crime through their actions. In this case, when an immigrant is arrested and convicted for crimes, he/she is mistakenly taken to be a representative of the entire immigrant population. For instance, the recent arrest of a Mexican national who was involved in the killing of a young woman in San Francisco should not be misconstrued to create perceptions that immigrants are increasingly likely to commit crimes, especially violent crimes. This is primarily because the individual is not a representative of Mexican immigrants and other immigrants just like Dylan Roof is no more a representative of the white population (Riley, 2015).

The inclusion of the missing elements/considerations in the article would still not show a correlation between migration and crime. Generally, every illegal immigrant in the United States has broken an immigration law, but this does not imply that they are predisposed to crime. For example, cities and states with a high population of immigrants are some of the safest neighborhoods in the country (The Economist, 2015). If there was a correlation between migration and crime, then cities or neighborhoods with a high population of immigrants would have high crime rates. Since this is not the case, there is no link between migration and crime in the United States despite contrary perceptions and opinions.

Opinion on the Link between Migration and Crime before the Class

My opinion before taking this class was that the relationship between migration and crime was not a big issue. I believed that criminals are individuals who are predisposed and committed to criminal offenses regardless of their nationality and legal status in the United States. Prior to taking this class, I thought that migration and crime are not interrelated because the actions of one individual cannot be considered as representative of his nationality, immigration status, race, and ethnicity. I have always felt bad when the actions of one individual or few individuals are misconstrued to be representative of an entire population. For instance, while most individuals who commit terror activities are Muslims, I feel bad when the entire religion is condemned and perceived to be terrorists. In this regard, considering immigrants to be criminals simply because some of them have been arrested and convicted of crime is wrong.

Since I was young, I have always believed that law enforcement initiatives should be geared towards preventing crime and arresting criminals. These initiatives should not involve profiling people on the basis of their demographical factors including their legal status in the United States. I strongly believed that a criminal should be treated as a criminal rather than profiling him/her to be representative of his/her nationality, ethnic group, race or other demographics. Throughout the years, I have never thought that migration is linked to crime or that immigrants are criminals.

My view on the link between migration and crime prior to taking this class was influenced by the fact that immigrants come to the United States to work hard to realize their dreams rather than for crime purposes. Additionally, I have always known that immigrants' decisions to come to the United States are also fueled by other factors such as the political climate in their native countries. On this basis, there are individuals who are looking for opportunities to enhance their living conditions by finding safer neighborhoods to live in and opportunities for work. Even when they migrate to the United States illegally, the underlying factors that led to their migration are far more important than the assumption that they will engage in or are predisposed to crime.

Given these factors, the relationship of immigration to crime has not been a big issue prior to taking this class. To an extent, I struggled to comprehend why immigration has dominated policy making agendas and initiatives in the recent past. While I understand the need to protect the United States homeland in light of the growing security concerns, I did not know why policymakers and politicians are increasingly concerned about immigration.

Opinion on the Link between Migration and Crime since Taking the Class

Since taking this class, my view and opinion regarding the relationship between migration and crime has slightly changed. While I still believe that there is no correlation or causal link between these two, immigration is a problem that needs critical evaluation by law enforcement agencies and other relevant personnel. One of the factors that have contributed to the slight change in my opinion is the fact that the class has enlightened me on the emerging security threats and concerns that should be addressed through enforcing laws including immigration laws.