US immigration hotspots are often safer

July 07 2009 by Mark Johnstone

US immigration makes for safer cities

Some of the safest cities in the US are those with high immigrant populations, according to a university study.

The city of El Paso in Texas has an extremely large US immigration population and lies near the border with Mexico, from where there have been reports of violent drug-related crime over the past year. However, perhaps surprisingly, the city itself is relatively safe with only 18 murders recorded last year, compared to 234 murders in Baltimore, a city of a similar size.

Jack Levin, a criminologist from Northeastern University in Massachusetts, says that cities with low murder rates are often safe places to live - not despite immigrants, but because of immigrants.

Levin explains, "If the immigrant community represents a large proportion of the population, you're likely in one of the country's safer cities. San Diego, Laredo, El Paso - these cities are teeming with immigrants, and they're some of the safest places in the country."

US immigration advocates are keen for the population to listen to the facts about the people who move to work in US, live and study. Law enforcement organisations often favour US immigration reform as they are aware that cities that attract large numbers of people from abroad to settle in the US are often safer that those with smaller immigrant communities.

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