Illegal Immigration and Violent Crime Rates in the United States, 2009-2014

4 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018 Last revised: 20 Jul 2018

Date Written: February 8, 2018

Abstract

The question of whether illegal immigration is positively related to crime rates in the United States has been heavily publicized since current U.S. president Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2015. This study explores the relationship between changes in illegal immigration and changes in violent crime rates at the state level during the period from 2009 to 2014. Data came from the Pew Research Center and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. Results show that changes in the percent of a state's population made up of undocumented immigrants is not significantly correlated with changes in violent crime rates among U.S. states for which data on both parameters exist (n=13). The finding of a lack of statistically significant association between undocumented immigration and crime is generally consistent with previous research on this topic.

Keywords: Immigration, crime, undocumented immigration, United States

Suggested Citation

Smith, Jinkinson, Illegal Immigration and Violent Crime Rates in the United States, 2009-2014 (February 8, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3120820 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3120820

Jinkinson Smith (Contact Author)

Independent ( email )

No Address Available

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