Reentering in Context: Examining the Effect of Immigrant Concentration on Patterns of Recidivism Across Communities

• In Event: Neighborhood Research on Immigration, Crime and Policing

Abstract

The research on immigration has yielded a robust pattern of findings as it relates to its impact on levels of criminal deviance. Studies have identified immigration as a crime-suppressing social process, a finding that emerges across analytical units, types of crime, and time. This research generally shows that those living in immigrant communities have lower levels of both criminal engagement and victimization, all things equal. However, it is less clear whether the same observed inverse association applies to the segment of the population who return to such communities post-incarceration, or if immigrant concentration is associated with lower levels of criminal re-offending than areas in which the foreign-born population is less concentrated. Drawing from the immigration/crime literature, there is reason to anticipate a similar protective effect for those who have prior engagement with the criminal justice system. There is also reason to expect that this population will be immune from the crime-buffering effect of immigration, which may not be strong enough to overcome the elevated likelihood of criminal involvement among a group of disproportionately crime-prone individuals. In an effort to cast new light on the association between immigrant concentration and recidivism, we analyze community-level re-offending data collected across multiple cities.

Authors

• Jacob Ian Stowell, Northeastern University

• Stephanie M. DiPietro, University of Iowa