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Migraciones Internacionales e-ISSN: 2594-0279

Papers

Vol. 4 No. 12 (2007): January-June, 2007

Crime on the U.S.-Mexico Border: The Effect of Undocumented Immigration and Border Enforcement

DOI
https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v4i12.1180
Published
2017-06-30

Abstract

In the 1990s, the U.S. border led the nation in the decline of property-related crimes, while violent crime rates fell twice as fast in the U.S. as in the median border county. This paper asks how changes in undocumented immigration and border enforcement have played a role in generating these divergent trends. We fi nd that migrant apprehensions are correlated with violent crime and that increased border enforcement has not had a deterrent effect on such crime. Rather, increased border enforcement in a sector has led to more violent crime in neighboring sectors. In contrast to the results for violent crime, property crime is not correlated with migrant apprehensions, and while there is some evidence that border enforcement has lowered property crime rates, this result is sensitive to the model’s specifi cation. Our fi ndings also indicate that the improved border economy over this period, specifi cally rapid job growth, played a signifi cant role in lowering property crime rates.RESUMENEn los años noventa, la frontera sur de Estados Unidos lideró a la nación en la caída de los crímenes sobre la propiedad, mientras que los crímenes violentos disminuyeron dos veces más rápido en todo el país que en los condados fronterizos. En este documento se encontró que las aprehensiones de inmigrantes están correlacionadas con los crímenes violentos y que el incremento en la seguridad fronteriza no ha tenido un efecto disuasivo en este tipo de crímenes, mientras que el incremento en la seguridad fronteriza en un sector ha propiciado la generación de más crímenes violentos en los sectores aledaños. En contraste con los resultados respecto a los crímenes violentos, los crímenes sobre la propiedad no están correlacionados con las aprehensiones de emigrantes. Además, existe cierta evidencia de que la seguridad fronteriza ha disminuido las tasas de crímenes sobre la propiedad, resultado sensible a la especifi cación del modelo. Los resultados también indican que la mejora en la economía fronteriza durante el período, específi camente el rápido crecimiento en el empleo, desempeñó un papel signifi cativo en la disminución de los crímenes sobre la propiedad.

Cover image

Keywords

  • crime
  • immigration
  • border enforcement
  • U.S.-Mexico border
  • border counties

How to Cite

Coronado, R., & Orrenius, P. M. (2017). Crime on the U.S.-Mexico Border: The Effect of Undocumented Immigration and Border Enforcement. Migraciones Internacionales, 4(12), 39–64. https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v4i12.1180
Copyright Notice

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  37. Fecha de recepción: 4 de enero de 2006
  38. Fecha de aceptación: 12 de septiembre de 2006