Immigration and Crime: Race, Ethnicity and Violence

New Perspectives in Crime, Deviance, and Law

by Ramiro Martinez Jr. (Editor), Abel Valenzuela Jr. (Editor)

An essential collection that argues fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded

The original essays in this much-needed collection broadly assess the contemporary patterns of crime as related to immigration, race, and ethnicity. Immigration and Crime covers both a variety of immigrant groups―mainly from Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America--and a variety of topics including: victimization, racial conflict, juvenile delinquency, exposure to violence, homicide, drugs, gangs, and border violence.

The volume provides important insights about past understandings of immigration and crime, many based on theories that have proven to be untrue or racially biased, as well as offering new scholarship on salient topics. Overall, the contributors argue that fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded, as immigrants are themselves often more likely to be the victims of discrimination, stigmatization, and crime rather than the perpetrators.

Contributors: Avraham Astor, Carl L. Bankston III, Robert J. Bursik, Jr., Roberto G. Gonzales, Sang Hea Kil, Golnaz Komaie, Jennifer Lee, Matthew T. Lee, Ramiro Martínez, Jr., Cecilia Menjívar, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, Charlie V. Morgan, Amie L. Nielsen, Rubén G. Rumbaut, Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada, Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Min Zhou.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2006

Reviews

[Sofie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely gives you perspective!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this five stars because I think it's so important. The book is a compilation of studies that deal with the topics of immigration and its relationship to crime. It debunks a lot of common stereotypes (for example: there's evidence that immigrant communities actually create a buffer against crime and violence, and foreign-born immigrants (as compared to successive generations born/growing up in the United States) are less likely to be involved in crime. It's an important topic that hasn't been explored very much, which is strange and unfortunate considering the effect immigration has on our country. Definitely worth checking out!

[Elizabeth Brotherton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book that illuminates the absence of strong empiical research into immigrant populations discusses how this void has contributed to the progression of stereotypes that associate immigrants with high crime rates. The author successfully argues that despite media assurances to the contrary, immigrants do not add significantly to the overall crime rate. Crimes committed by immigrants are oftentimes the product of various social, economic and political posturings--and in particular, can be traced to increased militarization in the United States and the unfortunate contemporary trend of profiling and criminalizing immigrants.