DOES IMMIGRATION INCREASE HOMICIDE? Negative Evidence From Three Border Cities z Matthew T. Lee z University zyx of Akron Ramiro Martinez, Jr. Florida lnternationa I University, National Consortium on Violence Research, National fnstitute of Justice Du Bois Fellow Richa rd Rose n fe I d University of Missouri--St. Louis, National Consortium on Violence Research zy Understanding the complex relationship between immigration and crime was once a corc concern of American sociology. Yet the extensive post-1965 wave of immigra- tion to the United States has done little to rekindle scholarly interest in this topic, even as politicians and other public figurcs advocate public policies to restrict immi- gration as a means of preventing crime. Although both popular accounts and socio- logical theory predict that immigration should increase crime in areas where immigrants scttle, this study of Miami, El Paso. and San Diego neighborhoods shows that, controlling for other influences, immigration generally does not increase levels of homicide among Latinos and African Americans. Our results not only challenge stereotypes of the “criminal immigrant” but also the core criminological notion that immigration, as a social process, disorganizes communities and increases crime. Understanding the social consequences of immigration and urbanization were instru- mental concerns of those who created American sociology as a distinct academic discipline (M. Waters 1999). The founders of the Chicago School of sociology were troubled by the urban problems linked to newcomers, and early sociologists wrestled with the connections between immigration and crime. This anxiety produced some of American sociology’s most enduring conceptual and empirical work, including classics on social disorganization (Thomas and Znaniecki 1920; Shaw and McKay 1931) and culture conflict (Sutherland 1934; Sellin 1938). Despite the potentially significant effect of immigration on current lev- els of crime and the high-profile role of this relationship in the history of the discipline, contemporary sociological studies of the link between crime and immigration are scarce. Direct all correspondence to Matthew T. Lcc. Dept. of Sociology. University of Akrrin. Akron, OH 44325-1905: e-mail. inled@ uakron.edu zyxwvutsrqpo The Sociological Quarterly,Volume 42, Number 4, pages 559480. Copyright zyxwvutsr 0 ZOO1 by The Midwest Sociological Society. All rights reserved. Send requests for permission to reprint to: Rights and Permissions,University of California Press, Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223. ISSN: 0038-0253 online ISSN 1533-8525