Crime rates among undocumented immigrants are just a fraction of those of their U.S.-born neighbors, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of Texas arrest and conviction records.
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Undocumented immigrants far less likely to commit crimes in U.S. than citizens
But at least two independent studies suggest Secure Communities didn’t have any effect on crime rates, according to Light, despite deporting more than 200,000 people in its first four years.
“If the plan was to make communities safer, to reduce the likelihood of, say, a felony violent assault in these communities through deportation, it did not deliver on that promise,” Light says. “Our results help us understand why that is. The population of people we deported simply were not a unique criminal risk. Removing them isn’t going to make you all that safer.”
While the new study can’t describe why undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes, it’s a common finding that first generation
immigrants tend to be less crime prone — and undocumented immigrants are, almost by definition, first generation immigrants. Light believes there are many reasons to expect a lower crime rate among undocumented immigrants.
“They have a tremendous incentive to avoid criminal wrongdoing. The greatest fear among undocumented immigrants is getting in legal trouble that leads to deportation,” says Light, whose work is supported by the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Justice.
