S3E18: Do immigrants commit more crime than native-born Americans?

History Behind News Program

Title 42 Expired.

From Chinese & Catholic & Jewish immigrants of yesteryears to immigrations now at our southern border.

After Title 42 expired last week, America expected a deluge of immigrants to pour over our border with Mexico. But the post-Title 42 reality hasn't yet met the awful specter that everyone feared.

Regardless, the strains of migration from our southern border are not limited to the border states of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California. They are felt as far away as Chicago, which identifies itself as a sanctuary city. And the pressure on the resources of US cities is expected to increase rapidly, now that Title 42 has ended.

As the number of migrants swells in US cities, such as Chicago, some Americans are asking this: will we be safe? Will crime rates increase?

This question comes with its own history, dating back to the 19th century when Catholic and Jewish, and Chinese immigrants flood our cities. And the same questions were asked back then by Americans - will we be safe? Will crime rates increase?

To better understand the history of US immigration and its correlation with crime, criminal procedures, and religious and racial biases, back in 2021, I spoke with Professor Jennifer Chacon. And hat conversation is relevant and highly informative, today. In our discussion, Prof. Chacon brings focus to the history of eugenics in the context of immigration and answers questions like do immigrants commit more crimes than native-born Americans? What is a sanctuary city and how is it different than secure communities? What is the immigration paradox? And what was the purpose of Dillingham's Commission on Immigration, which was formed during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency?

At the time of our conversation, back in 2021, Professor Chacon was a professor of law at UC Berkeley. She is now at Stanford University Law School, where she researches issues that arise at the nexus of immigration law, constitutional law, and criminal law and procedure.

She is the co-author of the immigration law textbook titled Immigration Law and Social Justice - which is now in its 2nd edition, and the co-author of a forthcoming book exploring how the past decade’s shifting immigration policies have shaped, and been shaped by, immigrant communities and organizations in Southern California.

Professor Chacon was a co-convenor of the Immigration Policy Advisory Committee to then-Senator Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, and an outside advisor to the Immigration Transition Team of President-Elect Obama from November 2008 through January 2009. To learn more about Professor Chacon, you can visit her academic homepage.

I hope you enjoy this episode.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

p.s.

Click here and listen to the WSJ's podcast episode about the history of Title 42.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUPPORT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠ and join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ our other supporters in the news peeler community. Thank you.

1. 🎵 attribution, links and license for the theme music in this podcast: The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
2. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HIGHLIGHTS⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: get future episode highlights in your inbox⁠.

To watch our distinguished guests tell the history behind our news, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok

--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/history-behind-news/support