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What is the crime rate per capita of undocumented immigrants in the United States compared to the general population?
Executive summary
Available reporting and peer-reviewed analyses consistently find that undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are arrested and convicted at lower rates than native‑born Americans: an NIJ‑funded Texas study reported undocumented people arrested for violent and drug crimes at less than half the rate of U.S.‑born residents and for property crimes at about one quarter the rate [1]. Multiple national think tanks, academic reviews and news outlets — including the American Immigration Council, NPR, the Brennan Center and peer‑reviewed research — corroborate that undocumented immigration is not associated with higher violent crime rates and often correlates with lower crime rates in communities [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. What the best empirical studies actually measure
Most strong studies compare arrest or conviction rates (not total offending) and rely on administrative or state datasets that record immigration status. For example, the NIJ‑funded analysis used Texas Department of Public Safety records (2012–2018) to estimate arrest rates by immigration status and found undocumented immigrants had the lowest offending rates overall, including for violent felonies and homicide (arrest rates for homicide averaged less than half those of U.S.‑born citizens) [1]. National syntheses and fact sheets likewise compare aggregate crime statistics to immigrant population shares across states and time [2] [4].
2. Consistent headline findings across institutions
Independent organizations and outlets report convergent conclusions: the American Immigration Council’s analysis found immigrants — including undocumented people — are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.‑born residents across multiple levels of geography and for violent and nonviolent offenses [2]. NPR summarized studies showing undocumented people were about 37.1% less likely to be convicted in some analyses [3]. The Brennan Center and academic reviews summarize numerous studies concluding undocumented immigration does not increase violent crime and sanctuary policies show no uptick in crime [4] [5].
3. Key numbers and limitations you should know
The NIJ‑funded Texas study reported undocumented arrest rates: less than half the rate of U.S.‑born residents for violent and drug crimes and roughly one quarter the rate for property crimes — figures based on arrests, not perfect proxies for actual offending [1]. NPR cited a 37.1% lower conviction likelihood in specific studies [3]. Importantly, arrest and conviction data reflect policing practices and data coverage; Texas provides unusually detailed immigration‑status information, and national estimates must navigate imperfect population denominators for undocumented populations [1] [5].
4. Areas of disagreement, caveats and methodological tradeoffs
Scholars caution that most research cannot perfectly separate undocumented from documented immigrants in national data, and changes in enforcement or reporting can influence arrest counts [6] [1]. Some studies note heterogeneity by origin, region or specific offense categories — for example, one analysis suggested unauthorized immigration from Mexico may be associated with different violence patterns in limited contexts [5]. Reporting from advocacy groups and think tanks also comes with implicit agendas: the American Immigration Council’s work aims to counter anti‑immigrant myths [2], while other outlets or groups not in this collection emphasize enforcement data like “criminal aliens” tallies maintained by CBP [7], which count prior convictions and can be used to highlight particular incidents [7].
5. How policymakers and media often misinterpret the data
High‑profile violent incidents by individual undocumented immigrants receive outsized attention and can create impressions of a “crime wave” despite population‑level evidence showing no increase in violent crime tied to undocumented immigration [4]. Aggregated analyses repeatedly show that increases in immigrant populations over recent decades coincided with falling crime rates nationally — a point the American Immigration Council documents with FBI and Census comparisons from 1980–2022 [2].
6. Bottom line for the original question
Current, peer‑reviewed and agency‑linked reporting in this set finds undocumented immigrants are arrested and convicted at lower per‑capita rates than U.S.‑born residents, with the NIJ‑funded Texas analysis providing the clearest numeric comparison: less than half the arrest rate for violent and drug crimes and about one quarter for property crimes [1]. Broader reviews and fact sheets from academic and policy organizations reinforce that undocumented immigration is not associated with higher violent crime at the state or national level [2] [5] [4].
Limitations: available sources emphasize arrests/convictions (not true incidence), rely heavily on Texas as a key data source, and note enforcement/recording practices can affect observed rates [1] [5].