Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas
It is found that considerably lower felony arrest rates among undocumented immigrants compared to legal immigrants and native-born US citizens and no evidence that undocumented criminality has increased in recent years is found.
Abstract
<jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p>Despite its centrality to public and political discourse, we lack even basic information on fundamental questions regarding undocumented immigrants and crime. This stems largely from data constraints. Going beyond existing research, we utilize data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, which checks and records the immigration status of all arrestees throughout the state. Contrary to public perception, we observe considerably lower felony arrest rates among undocumented immigrants compared to legal immigrants and native-born US citizens and find no evidence that undocumented criminality has increased in recent years. Our findings help us understand why the most aggressive immigrant removal programs have not delivered on their crime reduction promises and are unlikely to do so in the future.</jats:p>