Immigration and Crime: Ethnicity, Race, and Violence

An essential collection that argues fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded

The original essays in this much-needed collection broadly assess the contemporary patterns of crime as related to immigration, race, and ethnicity. Immigration and Crime covers both a variety of immigrant groups―mainly from Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America--and a variety of topics including: victimization, racial conflict, juvenile delinquency, exposure to violence, homicide, drugs, gangs, and border violence.

The volume provides important insights about past understandings of immigration and crime, many based on theories that have proven to be untrue or racially biased, as well as offering new scholarship on salient topics. Overall, the contributors argue that fears of immigrant crime are largely unfounded, as immigrants are themselves often more likely to be the victims of discrimination, stigmatization, and crime rather than the perpetrators.

Contributors: Avraham Astor, Carl L. Bankston III, Robert J. Bursik, Jr., Roberto G. Gonzales, Sang Hea Kil, Golnaz Komaie, Jennifer Lee, Matthew T. Lee, Ramiro Martínez, Jr., Cecilia Menjívar, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, Charlie V. Morgan, Amie L. Nielsen, Rubén G. Rumbaut, Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada, Abel Valenzuela, Jr., Min Zhou.

Ramiro Martinez, Jr. is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Public Health at Florida International University and the author of Latino Homicide: Immigration, Violence and Community.

Abel Valenzuela, Jr. is Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Chicana/o studies and at the University of California, Los Angeles and is co-editor of Prismatic Metropolis: Inequality in Los Angeles.