Immigrants in the United States

Immigrants and Crime

Immigrants and Crime is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: In the American imagination, immigrants and criminal activity are linked. The social reality of immigrant involvement with crime is actually mixed. First, one needs to consider whether crime unrelated to immigrant status (ranging from shoplifting to homicide) is the type of act being considered. Second, one has to decide whether entrance into the United States without required documents should be considered different from other civil and criminal offenses. Finally, there are visitors who legally enter the United States and then “overstay” their visas, thus becoming undocumented and illegal residents. When considering the criminality of immigrants, a differentiation needs to be made between traditional crime and crimes involving national sovereignty. The government classifies the first entry by an undocumented migrant as a civil violation. A second attempt is a felony offense. This section provides an overview of the critical issues related to the immigration and crime debate.

Influence

By the time American independence was declared in 1776, two-fifths of all settlers were of non-English origin. The first U.S. census, taken in 1790, revealed a population of just under four million people, with about 10,000 new settlers arriving each year. When the U.S. government began keeping records of arriving passengers in 1820, the majority of immigrants were from Northern Europe; by the end of the 19th century, they came largely from Southern and Eastern Europe. Today, the majority arrive from Latin America and Asia. Their reasons for coming, however — opportunity and freedom — remain unchanged. (2)

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Immigrants and Crime in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime
2. ”An Outline of American History”(1994), a publication of the United States Information Agency (USIA). Editor: Howard Cincotta

See Also