Immigration and Crime

Across the country calls are being made to limit immigration and deport undocumented immigrants based on the erroneous belief that there is a correlation between high levels of immigration and crime. Although, research consistently reveals immigrants are less likely than native-born citizens to commit crimes, the misperception continues. The National Opinion Research Center’s 2000 General Social Survey, asked whether respondents believed "more immigrants cause higher crime rates" and 73% believed that immigration is causally related to more crime.