Multiple comprehensive studies using different methodologies consistently show that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at significantly lower rates than native-born U.S. citizens. The most rigorous data available, from Texas's unique tracking system, reveals that U.S.-born citizens are 2 times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2.5 times more likely for drug crimes, and 4 times more likely for property crimes compared to undocumented immigrants. Historical analysis spanning 150 years confirms that immigrants have never had higher incarceration rates than the native-born population. As the immigrant population doubled from 6.2% to 13.9% between 1980 and 2022, total U.S. crime rates fell by 60.4%.
According to U.S. Sentencing Commission data, non-U.S. citizens accounted for 34.7% of federal sentences, with 88.7% being undocumented immigrants. However, these figures are misleading because 72.3% of these cases were immigration offenses - administrative violations rather than traditional crimes. When examining actual criminal behavior, the federal data shows limited violent or property crime involvement among undocumented immigrants.
The Texas Department of Public Safety study (2012-2018) provides the most comprehensive state-level analysis with immigration status data. Among 1.8 million arrests analyzed:
Recent analysis by Abramitzky et al. (2024) examining 150 years of Census data found that immigrants are currently 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born individuals, and 30% less likely when compared specifically to U.S.-born whites. This gap has widened in recent decades, contradicting narratives of increasing immigrant criminality.
The most comprehensive meta-analysis by Ousey & Kubrin (2018) examined 51 immigration-crime studies from 1994-2014. Their quantitative synthesis found the overall immigration-crime association is negative but very weak, with negative effects being 2.5 times more common than positive effects. Most studies showed null effects, indicating no relationship between immigration and crime.
Light (2017) conducted the first longitudinal analysis of undocumented immigration and violent crime across all 50 states from 1990-2014. Using fixed-effects regression models to control for state-level factors, the study found no evidence that undocumented immigration increases violence. The relationship was generally negative, suggesting immigration may actually reduce crime rates.
Light, He & Robey's 2020 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences analyzed Texas arrest data with unprecedented detail. This peer-reviewed research confirmed that undocumented immigrants had substantially lower crime rates across all major crime categories compared to both legal immigrants and native-born citizens.
The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting system, National Incident-Based Reporting System, and National Crime Victimization Survey do not track immigration status, creating a fundamental gap in federal crime statistics. This limitation means most national crime analyses cannot directly measure immigrant involvement.
DHS data focuses primarily on enforcement actions rather than comparative crime analysis. In FY 2024:
Federal prosecution data shows a heavy focus on immigration offenses, which comprised 92% of federal convictions for non-citizens. This enforcement emphasis distorts perceptions of immigrant criminality by conflating administrative violations with traditional crimes.
Across multiple studies and jurisdictions:
Despite stereotypes, undocumented immigrants show significantly lower drug crime involvement:
FBI data analysis shows border cities are among the safest in the country. Eleven major border cities had an average violent crime rate of 338.5 per 100,000 in 2019, below the national average of 366.7. El Paso, directly across from violent Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, recorded only 12 murders in 2009.
Multiple studies comparing sanctuary and non-sanctuary jurisdictions find:
Pew Research Center's analysis of all 50 states (2017-2022) found no statistically significant correlation between immigrant population share and total crime rates. States with higher immigrant populations did not experience higher crime rates.
From 1980 to 2022:
Despite record immigration at the southern border:
The Abramitzky study reveals immigrants have never had higher incarceration rates than native-born Americans throughout U.S. history, contradicting narratives of past "good immigrants" versus current "criminal immigrants."
Researchers identify multiple variables requiring control:
Leading researchers like Michael Light (Wisconsin), Charis Kubrin (UC Irvine), and Alex Nowrasteh (Cato) emphasize:
Despite some countries having significantly higher crime rates:
Critical finding: Immigrants from these high-crime countries do not replicate origin crime patterns in the United States.
Research identifies mechanisms for lower immigrant crime:
Research suggests:
The empirical evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at substantially lower rates than native-born U.S. citizens across all major crime categories. This finding remains consistent across different methodologies, time periods, geographic regions, and crime types. The 150-year historical record shows this is not a recent phenomenon but a persistent pattern in American immigration. Despite some origin countries having higher crime rates, immigrants from these nations do not import criminal behavior to the United States. The selection effects of migration, combined with strong economic motivations and deportation deterrence, create a population that is significantly more law-abiding than the native-born population. While data collection challenges exist, particularly the lack of systematic immigration status tracking outside Texas, the available evidence from multiple sources points to the same conclusion: immigration, including undocumented immigration, does not increase crime and may actually contribute to safer communities.