The Strange Career of Immigration in American Criminological Research

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Abstract

<div class="line" id="line-11"> Not too long ago, the link between immigration and crime was something of an article of faith among social scientists who presumed that immigrant concentration impeded communication and cooperation among community residents. In short, immigration increased social disorganization, as Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay (1969 [1942]) reported in their landmark research on Chicago neighborhoods. The resurgence of research on immigration and crime in the United States during the past two decades has upended the traditional view. A growing research literature has found that high levels of immigration are associated with lower levels of crime, especially criminal violence (see the policy essays by Martinez and Iwama [2014, this issue] and by Kubrin [2014, this issue]). Shaw and McKay's pioneering research is open to differing interpretations (Huff&hyphen;Corzine, Corzine, Laurikkala, and Olson, 2010), but the current consensus among social scientists is that, other things equal, immigration reduces violent crime.</div>
Original languageAmerican English
JournalCriminology and public policy
Volume13
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2014

Disciplines

  • Criminology
  • Political Science

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