Sociological criminology and the mythology of Hispanic immigration and crime

Our sociological knowledge of crime is fragmented and ineffective in challe nging and correcting mistaken public perceptions, for example, linking immi gration and crime. These misperceptions are perpetuated by government repor ts of growing numbers of Hispanic immigrants in U.S. prisons. However, Hisp anic immigrants are disproportionately young males who regardless of citize nship are at greater risk of criminal involvement. They are also more vulne rable to restrictive treatment in the criminal justice system, especially a t the pre-trial stage. When these differences are integrated into calculati ons using equations that begin with observed numbers of immigrants and citi zens in state prisons, it is estimated that the involvement of Hispanic imm igrants in crime is less than that of citizens. These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that immigration causes crime and make more transparent the immigration and criminal justice policies that inflate the rate of Hispani c incarceration. This transparency helps to resolve a paradox in the pictur e of Mexican immigration to the United States, since by most measures of we ll-being, Mexican immigrants are found to do as well and sometimes better t han citizens.