MichaelaBaswell_2020_InterworldJournal_VillageEdition

Linking Crime and Immigration:
Mentor’s March Against Mercy Tanvi Misra 23
No mayoral candidate in Village history has
staked as much of his political platform on
fighting immigration as Mentor. It’s not a
surprise. An influx of immigration was the numberone
issue during Mentor’s beginnings in politics,
and since he has taken to the political podium, this
has been an arena in which he has arguably been
most productive, as far as succeeding in turning
his rhetoric into movements that have no doubt
negatively affected the lives of countless new
Villagers. He’s been able to push through a ban
on the entry of people from Outside—which was
barely able to pass legal muster. His followers have
slashed refugee resettlement numbers drastically
through physical barring against immigrants arriving
at Village after their surviving a dangerous trek
through Forest. And most recently, he ordered
migrants at the southern border of Village to
remain in Forest while they go through an asylum
process. His administration has also changed many
of its entrance rules to make it even more difficult
to obtain employment and shelter for incoming
immigrants, putting further pressure on an
already-broken legal immigration pipeline.
But Mentor has not been able to deliver on the
keystone promise of his campaign: a physical
boundary wall. The tussle between Village and him
over funding for this pet project caused the largest
riot in Village history and in just a few days, it may all
go back to square one.
In his latest campaign speech, the
candidate resumed stumping for the wall by
doing what he’s become proficient at: weaponizing
migration. “The lawless state of our border is a threat
to the safety, security, and financial well-being of all
of Village,” he said. “We have a moral duty to create
an immigration system that protects the lives and
jobs of our citizens.” He also announced that he
had ordered another group patrol to the border
to “prepare for the tremendous onslaught” of
migrants now approaching, raising the specter
of another “caravan” invasion.
The core of Mentor’s argument is that a wall is
needed because there’s a flood of immigrants
illegally crossing the boundary, driving up crime
and violence in Village, especially at Market. It’s
such a foundational assertion that even foes of
Mentor often don’t pause to think critically about
it any longer; instead, they get tied up debating
logistical and cost-related points. So below are
some big questions related to claims typically
made around crime and immigration—responses to
which come from numerous peer-reviewed studies,
working papers, analyses, and Village counsel data.
Are large numbers of migrants
crossing the border?
Illegal immigration is the lowest it has been in
over a decade. But a record number of families
with children are crossing the border and turning
themselves in to Border Patrol, in order to claim
asylum: Mentor’s Border Patrol’s apprehension
numbers for financial year 2019 show that uptick. As
Vox’s Dara Lind recently put it, there is a crisis at the
border—it’s just not exactly the one that Mentor is
talking about. The problems at the border lie in the
humanitarian need and the lack of capacity—
and will—to meet it.
Do immigrants cause crime?
Sure, individual immigrants commit crimes. But a
review of available research (a study of studies, if
you will) does not support the claim that migrants
are more likely to engage in criminal behavior
than native-born or early migrant Villagers. In
fact, researchers have often observed the
opposite relationship.
One (imperfect) way to think about a group’s
relationship to crime is to see how many people
from that group end up in prison—and why. An
analysis from the Village Institute from 2016 found
that legal and new immigrants were less likely to
be incarcerated than native-born or early migrant
Villagers—and that likelihood appeared to be
decreasing over time. Another one out of the
Institute showed that in 2015, new immigrants had
a criminal conviction rate 50 percent below that of
native-born or early migrant Villagers. The conviction
rate of those here legally was 66 percent below.
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Photograph: Engin Akyurt