"The academic literature and official statistics provide mixed findings for the relationship between immigration and crime."
Overview of the intersection of immigration law and criminal law, including grounds for inadmissibility or deportation based on criminal activity.
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA): The INA is the primary source of immigration law in the United States. It governs the admission, exclusion, deportation, and naturalization of foreign nationals.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): The USCIS is the agency responsible for processing immigration petitions and applications.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): ICE is the agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws and investigating immigration-related crimes.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): DACA is a policy that allows certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to receive temporary protection from deportation and work authorization.
Asylum and Refugee law: Asylum and refugee law provide protections for individuals who flee their home countries due to persecution or fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
Detention and Deportation: Detention and deportation are the processes by which the government takes legal action against non-citizens who are in the U.S. illegally or have violated immigration laws.
Criminal immigration law: Criminal immigration law involves the intersection of immigration law and criminal law, such as when a non-citizen is convicted of a crime and faces deportation.
Immigration Court proceedings: Immigration Court proceedings involve hearings before Immigration Judges to determine the status of a non-citizen and whether they can remain in the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention centers: Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention centers are facilities used to detain non-citizens who are facing removal proceedings or awaiting deportation.
Visas: Visas are permissions granted to non-citizens to enter and stay in the U.S. for a specific purpose, such as work or study.
Family-based immigration: Family-based immigration allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor certain family members for immigration to the U.S.
Green Cards: Green Cards are permanent resident cards that allow non-citizens to live and work in the U.S. permanently.
Naturalization and Citizenship: Naturalization and Citizenship is the process by which foreign nationals become U.S. citizens.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): TPS is a temporary form of immigration protection granted to individuals from countries experiencing war, natural disasters, or other conditions that prevent them from returning safely.
Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Criminal convictions can have serious immigration consequences, such as denial of visas or deportation.
Family-based immigration: This category of immigration law pertains to bringing family members to the United States.
Employment-based immigration: This category of immigration law pertains to bringing skilled and professional workers to the United States.
Humanitarian immigration: This category of immigration law pertains to individuals who are seeking asylum, refugee status, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
Diversity Visa Lottery: This category pertains to individuals who are selected through a lottery to immigrate to the United States.
Naturalization and Citizenship: This category pertains to individuals who are seeking to obtain US citizenship.
Felonies: Felonies are serious crimes that carry severe penalties, such as imprisonment for more than one year, fines, or both.
Misdemeanors: Misdemeanors are crimes of lesser severity than felonies, punishable by imprisonment for less than one year, fines or a combination of both.
Violent crime: Violent crimes include murder, assault, battery, and domestic violence.
Drug offenses: Drug offenses include possessing, manufacturing, or distributing controlled substances.
White-collar crime: These are non-violent crimes, typically committed in a professional setting, including financial fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, and identity theft.
Juvenile law: Juvenile law pertains to crimes committed by individuals who are underage.
Traffic offenses: Traffic offenses include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, reckless driving, speeding, and driving without a license.
Cybercrime: Cybercrime includes crimes involving computer-related activities such as hacking, phishing, identity theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive computer systems.
Hate crimes: Hate crimes are actions motivated by prejudice and intended to harm an individual, group, or property.
Immigration violations: Immigration violations involve offenses that violate immigration law, such as unlawful entry or overstaying a visa.
"Research tends to suggest that immigration either has no impact on the crime rate or even that immigrants are less prone to crime."
"Overall, the immigration-crime association is negative, but the relationship is very weak and there is significant variation in findings across studies."
"A meta-analysis of 51 studies...found that, overall, the immigration-crime association is negative."
"Yes, research and statistics in some other, mainly European countries suggest a positive link between immigration and crime."
"The over-representation of immigrants in the criminal justice systems of several countries may be due to socioeconomic factors, imprisonment for migration offenses, and racial and ethnic discrimination by police and the judicial system."
"The relationship between immigration and terrorism is understudied, but existing research is inconclusive."
"Research on the relationship between refugee migration and crime is scarce and existing empirical evidence is often contradictory."
"According to statistics from some countries, asylum seekers are overrepresented in crime figures."
"A 2009 review of high-quality studies conducted in the United States...also found a negative relationship."
"The over-representation of immigrants in the criminal justice systems of several countries may be due to socioeconomic factors..."
"The over-representation of immigrants in the criminal justice systems of several countries may be...racial and ethnic discrimination by police and the judicial system."
"Research and statistics in some other, mainly European countries suggest a positive link between immigration and crime."
"Immigrants from particular countries are often overrepresented in crime figures."
"There is significant variation in findings across studies."
"A meta-analysis of 51 studies...found that, overall, the immigration-crime association is negative."
"Immigration either has no impact on the crime rate or even immigrants are less prone to crime."
"Existing empirical evidence is often contradictory."
"Research on the relationship between immigration and terrorism is inconclusive."
"Research tends to suggest that immigrants are less prone to crime."