Do Immigrants Threaten US Public Safety?

Pia Orrenius
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Madeline Zavodny
University of North Florida

Credit: Tiko Aramyan / Shutterstock

Do Immigrants Threaten US Public Safety?


Opponents of immigration often claim that immigrants, particularly those who are unauthorized, are more likely than US natives to commit crimes and that they pose a threat to public safety. There is little evidence to support these claims. In fact, research overwhelmingly indicates that immigrants are less likely than similar US natives to commit violent and property crimes, and that areas with more immigrants have similar or lower rates of violent and property crimes than areas with fewer immigrants. There are relatively few studies specifically of criminal behavior among unauthorized immigrants, but the limited research suggests that these immigrants also have a lower propensity to commit crime than their native-born peers, although possibly a higher propensity than legal immigrants. Evidence about legalization programs is consistent with these findings, indicating that a legalization program reduces crime rates. Meanwhile, increased border enforcement, which reduces unauthorized immigrant inflows, has mixed effects on crime rates. A legalization program or other similar initiatives not currently under serious consideration have more potential to improve public safety and security than several other policies that have recently been proposed or implemented.


Author Names

Pia Orrenius and Madeline Zavodny

Journal Journal on Migration and Human Security
Date of Publication July 2, 2019
Pages 52-61
DOI 10.1177/2331502419857083
Volume 7
Issue Number 3