Immigration, African American Segregation and Arrest Changes in U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 1980-2000

Mike Roettger, Bowling Green State University

Existing empirical research suggests that (1) immigrants commit less crime than non-immigrants, and (2) segregated and impoverished blacks in urban ghettoes are disproportionately more likely to commit crime. However, to date, no studies have tested how these relationships may spatially hold within urban areas. In this essay, I use a longitudinal sample of urban metropolitan areas to test if changes in immigrant populations and residential black populations are associated with changes in crime within urban areas. Findings may help to better contextualize existing literature on immigrant assimilation and the empirical literature linking crime and residential segregation within urban areas.