Public Study: Illegal Immigrants Commit Less Crime Than Americans
Illegal immigrants are erroneously perceived to commit more crime based on the mistaken theory their population size is much larger than it really is, according to the findings of a respected public university in a southern border state.
If this isnât the most ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars, what is? A professor at a taxpayer-funded university in Arizona has actually published a study intended to answer a baffling question; why do so many Americans believe âundocumented immigrantsâ commit more crime? âThe public consistently perceives immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, as criminal,â says the Arizona State University professor (Xia Wang) of criminology who set the record straight.
Thatâs, due in part, to the perceived population size of the immigrant community overall. âIf somebody is perceiving undocumented immigrants as a larger proportion in the population, they are going to perceive undocumented immigrants at a higher level of criminal threat,â according to Professor Wang. She assures that âpeople have very distorted and exaggerated views of the population size of undocumented immigrants.â
U.S. government figures put it at around 12 million, give or take. The new study found that âthe wright of evidence suggests that immigration is not related to more crime.â Itâs all about a mistaken perception, according to researchers. âThe public consistently perceives immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants, as criminal,â Professor Wang says. Could it be because they have violated U.S. law by entering and living in the country illegally? Not surprisingly, that crucial fact is never considered by this group of academics.
To understand why this perception exists, Wang applied whatâs known as a âminority threat perspective,â a theory that seeks to explain why âminorities are treated differently by law enforcement.â For this particular study, data was used from a poll of more than 1,000 people in Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. A large proportion of respondents estimated the undocumented population to be more than half of the overall foreign born population, far greater than ârecognized statistics.â
Level of education and âvictimization experienceâ played a huge role in shaping the views of those surveyed, according to researchers. Also, U.S.-born citizensâ unemployment rate and the economic condition of their community played a role in believing âunauthorized immigrantsâ were more involved in crime. Researchers encourage criminologists to conclude that âminority threat perspectiveâ could be applied to âundocumented immigrantsâ when compiling official reports and statistics.
As for the rest of the nationâs population, the Arizona study concludes unequivocally, that illegal immigrants âactually commit less crime than the native born.â Those who disagree arenât being reasonable or rational, according to this brilliant piece of work. Itâs all just a big mistake.