Describing And Evaluating The Dynamics For Social Change And Community Improvements Relating To The Problem Of Increased Illegal Immigration May Be Crime Rates
A variety of different studies using different methodologies have found that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to engage in either violent or nonviolent ?antisocial? behaviors; that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be repeat offenders among ?high risk? adolescents; and that immigrant youth who were students in U.S. middle and high schools in the mid-1990s and are now young adults have among the lowest delinquency rates of all young people. Nonetheless, Anti-immigrant activists and politicians are fond of relying upon anecdotes to support their oft-repeated …show more content…
that we must restrict immigration or ?get tough? on the undocumented in order to save the lives of U.S. citizens. While these kinds of arguments are emotionally powerful, they are intellectually dishonest. There is no doubt that dangerous criminals must be punished, and that immigrants who are dangerous criminals should not be allowed to enter the United States or should be deported if they already are here. But harsh immigration policies are not effective in fighting crime because as numerous studies over the past 100 years have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are not associated with higher rates of crime. This holds true for both legal immigrants and the undocumented, regardless of their country of origin or level of education. Even more, many U.S. policymakers succumb to their fears and prejudices about what they imagine immigrants to be. As a result, far too many immigration policies are drafted on the basis of stereotypes rather than substance. These laws are criminalizing an ever broadening swath of the immigrant population by applying a double standard when it comes to the consequences for criminal
A variety of different studies using different methodologies have found that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to engage in either violent or nonviolent ?antisocial? behaviors; that immigrants are less likely than the native-born to be repeat offenders among ?high risk? adolescents; and that immigrant youth who were students in U.S. middle and high schools in the mid-1990s and are now young adults have among the lowest delinquency rates of all young people. Nonetheless, Anti-immigrant activists and politicians are fond of relying upon anecdotes to support their oft-repeated …show more content…
that we must restrict immigration or ?get tough? on the undocumented in order to save the lives of U.S. citizens. While these kinds of arguments are emotionally powerful, they are intellectually dishonest. There is no doubt that dangerous criminals must be punished, and that immigrants who are dangerous criminals should not be allowed to enter the United States or should be deported if they already are here. But harsh immigration policies are not effective in fighting crime because as numerous studies over the past 100 years have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are not associated with higher rates of crime. This holds true for both legal immigrants and the undocumented, regardless of their country of origin or level of education. Even more, many U.S. policymakers succumb to their fears and prejudices about what they imagine immigrants to be. As a result, far too many immigration policies are drafted on the basis of stereotypes rather than substance. These laws are criminalizing an ever broadening swath of the immigrant population by applying a double standard when it comes to the consequences for criminal