2024-03-30 16:33:23
Europe struggling to tackle illegal immigration
The mistaken belief that ‘crime increases due to immigrants’
Far-right forces insist on immigration issues… Crime rate has steadily decreased compared to the past
“They have a higher level of law-abiding spirit than their own citizens.”
“Illegal immigrants are mostly criminals such as drug dealers and rapists.” (Former U.S. President Donald Trump)
Politicians around the world who preach anti-immigration policies have a common logic. The claim is that ‘illegal immigrants cause incidents and accidents and have a negative impact on society.’ Far-right media outlets that sympathize with this also feature cases involving illegal immigrants.
In Western society, the number of illegal immigrants is increasing, which is having a significant impact on voter sentiment. According to a Gallup poll conducted on the 27th of last month (local time), illegal immigration ranked first with 28% of the answers among the ‘biggest problems facing America.’ This is why US President Joe Biden, who used to be relatively friendly, recently changed his stance to take a hard line on the issue of illegal immigration.
However, the perception that ‘immigrants = criminals’ may be a prejudice that is different from reality. Last year, a joint research team led by Stanford University professor Ran Abramitzky and Princeton University professor Leah Bustan analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data from 1850 to 2020, and found that the crime rate of immigrants who came to the United States over the past 170 years was significantly lower than that of those born in the United States. The gap has grown over time, with today’s immigrant crime rate being more than 60% lower.
Even the ‘immigrants from Mexico’ that Trump always takes issue with have never had a higher crime rate than those born in the United States since the 1960s. The researchers explained, “What is particularly interesting in this study is that although immigrant groups tend to be young, low-income, and low-educated, which are generally considered factors that make them more likely to be involved in crime, the crime rate was actually low.”
Professor Abramitsky also added, “Some are raising fears that the country will be taken away by an overflow of immigrants, but this is not true.” It is said that in the United States, whether it was 100 years ago or now, the proportion of immigrants in the total population is the same, about 14%.
So what about other regions? According to a recent study by Ayshegül Kayaoglu, a professor of economics at Istanbul Technical University in Turkye, the number of immigrants increased significantly in the southern border area of Turkye from 2012 to 2016, immediately after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. However, the crime rate in that area is said to be lower than other areas.
There are similar research results in Germany. According to data from the German Federal Crime Agency, the ratio of crimes committed against foreigners peaked at 10% in 2015 and has steadily decreased since then. In 2020, it fell to 5.8%. Local analysis suggests that the number of crimes increased temporarily due to increased confusion at the beginning of the influx of immigrants, but later showed a downward trend.
Hein de Haas, professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and former director of the International Migration Institute (IMI) at Oxford University in the UK, said, “Immigrants earnestly hope to acquire permanent residency or citizenship and take root in the country,” adding, “The majority try to obey the law better than their own citizens. “These are members of society who are working hard,” he said.
According to Professor Haas, even globally, the rate of immigrants has not increased significantly. It is true that international immigrants have increased significantly from approximately 93 million in 1970 to 247 million in 2017. However, during the same period, the world population has also increased significantly, and the rate of immigrants continues to remain at about 3%. The explanation is that the figure of ‘highest number of immigrants in history’ is not wrong, but it cannot be a threat that has enough impact to shake society.
Reporter Lee Cheong-ah [email protected]
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2024-03-30 16:33:23