Neighborhood Violent Crime during a New Era of Immigration

David Ramey, Ohio State University

The 1990s was a period of massive growth and expansion for the immigrant population in the United States. While vibrant migrant streams remained in large cities with traditionally high levels of immigration, economic and social changes also influenced a shift in settlement patterns towards “new destination cities” with relative low immigrant populations at the start of the decade. Although past neighborhood studies find little or no evidence of any association between immigration and neighborhood crime, few consider how varying characteristics of cities and neighborhoods may have an influence. This project uses the Neighborhood Change Database and the National Neighborhood Crime Study to examine immigration and neighborhood violent crime in neighborhoods and cities that vary according to their immigration histories. Using multilevel modeling techniques, I argue that local immigrant growth and decline influence neighborhood violence. Further, the effects of city-level immigration dynamics vary in their impact on differently structured neighborhoods.