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Why Immigration Is Responsible For Crime Essay

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In what ways could immigration lead to higher levels of crime? Explain whether, or under what circumstances, it does.

People migrate for various reason, such as working, studying and asylum seeking. In 2014, OECD data display the inflow of foreign population to the UK is 504,000; US has 1,016518; Canada has 260,411. It is a double-edged sword – productive immigrants contribute to the economic growth of the country and do not threaten the welfare of the natives. On the contrary, if the immigrants find it hard to adapt to the country, they would increase the cost of the country(Borjas, 1994). It is common that when one thinks about immigration, he would relate it to the negative influences that are brought by the immigrants, as Edith Abbott states in the report of the National Commission of Law and Enforecement(1931: 23) “The theory that immigration is responsible for crime, … that all newcomers should be regarded with an attitude of suspicion, is a theory that is almost as old as the colonies planted by Englishmen on the New England coast.” Hence, we would like to explore whether, or under what circumstances does immigration lead to higher levels of crime.

First, Bell et al. (2013) argue that immigrants with low labour market opportunities could lead to higher level of crime. Different attributes of the immigrants, especially in the labor market, are essential factors that determine the relationship between immigration and crime. In the study comparing the impact of the

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