Why do Americans think more immigration means more crime? (audio)

The stereotype is deep and enduring:  immigrants are criminals.  President Trump has broadcast those stereotypes about Mexican immigrants.  Immigration & Customs Enforcement news releases (see, e.g., “ICE Dallas arrests fugitive wanted in El Salvador for alien smuggling, fraud“) reinforce the immigrant-as-criminal trope.  

Samantha Laine Perfas, Jessica Mendoza, and Henry Gass for the Christian Science Monitor report that the evidence, over decades, is clear: Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. Yet 42% of Americans still say immigration is making crime worse in the United States, according to a 2019 Gallup Poll. 

The audio, which discusses the history of racism’s influence on immigration law and policy, explores the myth of “the dangerous immigrant,” the policies the stereotype has produced, and the impact our assumptions have on the institutions we build.   The audio might be a good way to start a class discussion on teh issues.

KJ