Immigrants incarcerated less frequently

[almaty 19]

Countering a widespread belief, a new report shows California's foreign-born population -- including illegal immigrants -- makes up only a sliver of the state's population of inmates.

The report released Monday by the Public Policy Institute of California also suggests that the foreign-born population, which makes up more than a third of the state's adults, plays a disproportionately smaller role in serious crime.

"Crime, Corrections, and California: What Does Immigration Have to Do with It?" gives one of the clearest glimpses yet into the effect of immigrants and immigration on the state's justice system.

It also aims to dispel the perception that cities with large foreign-born populations are criminal hot beds, with several California cities showing a dip in police activity amid recent immigration waves.

But while the findings are surprising, they do not account for a complete relationship between immigration and crime.

The report did not, for example, examine petty crimes such as shoplifting and vandalism, which would not necessarily result in jail time. The findings also do not take into consideration the effect that immigrants' children might have on crime.

Kristin Butcher, one of the report's co-authors, said the low rate of incarceration could be linked to U.S. immigration policies, which call for carefully weeding through visa applicants and deporting illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes such as gang involvement and murder.

type of people who are immigrating are less likely to commit crimes because they're here for jobs," said Butcher, a professor at Wellesley College and a fellow for the nonpartisan policy research group.

The report underscores what Salvador Bustamante has been telling people for several years about the foreign-born population -- and illegal immigrants in particular.

"A lot of people have painted immigrants as the criminal element in our society, and that isn't the case," said Bustamante, Northern California director of Strengthening Our Lives, a statewide nonprofit group that works to empower immigrants.

He said immigrants come to the United States to work, often trying to stay under the radar of authorities and away from criminal activity to avoid deportation.

"The more we can do to dispel the myths that have been created about immigrants will help with immigrant rights and immigration reform," he said.

The findings do not sit well with Bill Cole, an advocate for more stringent laws to make sure illegal immigrants who commit crimes are deported.

Bill Cole's ex-wife, Sara, was hit by drunk driver Lucio Rodriguez -- an illegal immigrant previously convicted of driving drunk --in September, nearly severing her legs.

Rodriguez has since pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges.

"What we're trying to do is make the community safer," Bill Cole said.

The institute obtained its findings by examining the state's foreign-born population, which includes anyone born outside the United States, regardless of their naturalization status, Butcher said. It then focused on men ages 18 to 40 in jails, institutions and state prisons, drawing comparisons with their U.S.-born counterparts using California Census data.

While acknowledging that staying in the country illegally is a crime, Butcher and co-author Anne Morrison Piehl focused on activities that both foreign-born and U.S.-born adults can commit.

Among their findings:

Foreign-born men make up about 35 percent of the state's adult male population, but they make up roughly 17 percent of the state's overall prison inmates.

U.S.-born men are jailed in state prisons at a rate more than three times higher than foreign-born men, and they are 10 times more likely to land behind bars.

Male Mexican nationals ages 18 to 40 -- those more likely to have entered the country illegally -- are more than eight times less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to be imprisoned.

Those who entered the country when they were 1 year old or younger make up about 0.8 percent of those institutionalized.

The low crime rate among foreign-born Californians can be seen in the crime tallies for cities such as Burbank, Glendale and Norwalk, which large proportions of the state's immigrant population call home.

From 2000 to 2005, those cities experienced crime dips far greater than cities with smaller immigrant populations.

Butcher said the report shows, among other things, that "spending more money to increase penalties against criminal immigrants will have little impact on public safety."

[almaty 19]

so much for crime and illegals as well as immigrants in general

[Ban Hammer 13,673]

so much for crime and illegals as well as immigrants in general

got a link?

[Sister Fracas 5]

so much for crime and illegals as well as immigrants in general

it's all the illegals fault...especially brown ones...

[almaty 19]

undefined

here is one link..there are several calif. newspapers carrying the story

so much for crime and illegals as well as immigrants in general

it's all the illegals fault...especially brown ones...

brown illegals ftw!

Edited February 26, 2008 by almaty

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Isn't is nice that we're lumping all foreign born people together to make the illegal crowd look better than it is? Where's the stat that shows that illegal aliens are not incarcerated at higher rates than lawful US residents and citizens? That would be the relevant piece to review.

[Ban Hammer 13,673]

the article freely mixes illegal with legal....if they'd do a study comparing illegal with legal rather than lumping them all together we'd see a difference i bet.

eta: i see et-us done beat me to that point.

Edited February 26, 2008 by charlesandnessa

[almaty 19]

all are immigrants ..and that is the definition used...

[Ban Hammer 13,673]

all are immigrants ..and that is the definition used...

link

[sandinista! 1,816]

this is odd.

"One of the most disturbing findings of the IPC study was that immigrant children and immigrants with many years in the country are more likely to become criminals than first-generation immigrants or those with less than 15 years in the country. In other words, the more acculturated immigrants are the more likely they are to become criminals—although still at lower rates than those for non-immigrants."

http://americas.irc-online.org/am/4903