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In times of uncertainty, fear can be a powerful motivator. It leads people to push for rigid rules and more restrictions. With terrorist organizations making headlines, people naturally seek for greater protection. This means regulations concerning immigrants and foreigners will be affected. USA's president, Donald Trump, has pushed for a 90 day travel ban for those coming from seven countries in the middle east. Although its intentions might mean well, criminologists say that there is no virtual link between immigrants and crime.
A paper published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice by criminologists evaluated the relationship between the two subjects over the past four decades in 200 random metropolitan areas in the US. One of the most shocking results show that crime, such as murders and robbery, actually decreased as immigration increased! The only association found was that there was an increase in aggravated assault as the number of immigrants increased.
These findings thus signify that there is not a strong nor stable relationship between crime and immigrants. Another research, from the The Annual Review of Criminology, looked more specifically at this relationship by reviewing the relevant studies done on the topic in the past twenty years. This study also concluded that an increase in immigration led to a decrease in crime rates!
Why does crime seem to decrease with more immigrants? One reason could be of the increase of diversity. Past research suggests that diversity increases creativity, acceptance and critical thinking. Nonetheless, there has been no evidence to prove that an increase of immigrants leads to an increase of crime. In times of uncertainty, do not let fear dictate irrational and unjustified thoughts and decisions. To overcome challenges, people need to be more open and accepting.
Source material from Scientific American