Webster University criminologist finds immigrants less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - From unsubstantiated reports of immigrants from Haiti stealing pets in Springfield, Ohio, to now-debunked stories of Venezuelan immigrants taking over apartment complexes in Colorado, to a Hondouran immigrant charged in the DWI death of a St Louis police officer, "immigrant crime" has sparked fears in recent weeks.

But do online posts and stories accurately reflect the actual statistics of crimes committed by immigrants to the U.S.?

Webster University criminologist Allison Gorga took a hard look and found robust data over decades shows immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

"We find this to be true both at the individual level and the aggregate level," said Gorga on Total Information A.M. "So when we compare it to individual immigrants to non-immigrants, we find that those born in the U.S. actually commit more crime than those are born elsewhere."

"We also find that too at the aggregate, so when we compare cities and neighborhoods or counties that have high concentration of immigrant populations, those communities have lower crime rates than areas that don't have those immigrant populations."

Gorga notes many immigrants come from community and family oriented cultures, whereas the U.S. is more individualistic and materialistic.

She also notes immigrants come here for opportunity and a better life, so they don't want to squander it.

"(Immigrants) risk a lot to be here, and they are not playing around with the rules, so they tend to follow them," said Gorga.

Gorga finally notes that most immigrants tend to reside in areas with people who have similar backgrounds as them.

"It creates an ethnic enclave economy," Gorga explains. "They can revitalize an area and contribute to stronger, informal, social controls at the neighborhood level. They also provide stable jobs to each other and to U.S. born individuals. They are also a significant consumer base."