Assessing the Relationship Between Immigration Status, Crime, Gang Affiliation, and Victimization

Funded by the National Institute of Justice (https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/awards/2020-r2-cx-0028), this project examines the relationship between immigration status and the likelihood of crime, gang involvement, and violent victimization. The idea for this project came from the events that have, once again, placed immigrants at the center of political discourse. Attention has centered on the prevalence of undocumented immigrants entering and residing within the United States, concern over increasing crime rates involving undocumented immigrants, and the appropriateness of the various policies aimed at controlling the influx of undocumented immigrants into the country. The recent wave of immigration from Latin America has led to a renewed public outcry and overall concerns regarding the relationship between immigration, crime and gang involvement, and the safety of the American public. The use of research evidence provides a more objective, reality-based, and certainly more defensible way to determine what problems exist and accordingly the decisions needed to address those problems.  

This project carries out a multi-methodological study that examines the prevalence of criminal involvement, gang membership, and violent victimization of immigrants by immigration status. This project is being conducted in several phases. The first phase of the project relies on the analysis of previously collected quantitative self-report data measuring criminal involvement, gang involvement, and experiences of violent victimization as well as official arrest data from a sample of people booked in a Maricopa County, Arizona jail.

The second phase analyzes self-report data and qualitative narratives collected from a community sample of undocumented immigrants, legal residents, and U.S. citizens. Community member surveys will be compared to the self-reported data from the arrestees. Additionally, the qualitative narratives provide a more nuanced understanding of immigrants’ experiences with victimization, criminality, and gang involvement. 

In the third and final phase, the community sample will be asked to respond to several questions assessing their social networks, focusing particularly on international connections with crime-involved individuals, including MS13. Social network analysis will provide information that can help assess immigrants’ transnational connections to facilitate criminal activity.

Results from this project will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between immigration status and crime, gang involvement, and victimization as well as an understanding of the role of immigrants' social networks in the likelihood of criminal involvement. These findings will serve as the empirical basis upon which to shape policies and practices targeted at the immigration issue, as well as help inform the development of culturally competent and relevant services for victims of differing immigration statuses.