The Empirics of Immigration and Homicide: Evidence from California and Texas

• NCJ Number: 308547
• Author(s): Michael T. Light; Laura Boisten; Jungmyung Kim
• Date Published: 2024
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2019-R2-CX-0058
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

The goal of this book chapter is to address the lack of information on basic questions regarding comparative rates of lethal violence between immigrants and U.S.-born citizens; it uses criminal history information for all arrests in California and Texas between the years 2006 and 2018 to provide an empirical foundation for general criminological literature on the immigration-homicide nexus by establishing facts about its key dimensions.

Abstract

The authors address basic questions regarding the difference between lethal violence committed by immigrants and U.S.-born citizens, including: if immigrants have more violent criminal pasts than native-born citizens; how the immigrant homicide rate compares to the native-born rate; if these relationships differ based on race, ethnicity, or national origin; how the immigrant homicide rates have changed in recent years; and if the homicide rate is different for undocumented immigrants. They present their data sources and findings, which cover the following issues: violent crime and homicide rates based on immigration status; homicide rates by race, ethnicity, and national origin; criminal history profiles of immigrants who were arrested compared with native citizens’ records; and undocumented immigrants’ criminal history profiles. The authors summarize and discuss their findings in the conclusion, noting that: immigrants generally exhibit lower rates of serious violent crime in California and Texas; violent crime rates among immigrants are lower in California than Texas; in both states, there is significant difference in the immigration-homicide relationship based on race/ethnicity and national origin; in Texas, undocumented immigrants have lower rates of violent offenses than lawful immigrants and native-born citizens; and relative to the U.S.-born population, violent criminal histories of immigrants are both less extensive and less severe.