Bad Hombres or Buena Gente (Bad Men or Good People): Immigration, Nationality, and Crime in Texas, 2000 to 2019

Prior research has extensively documented the protective effects of immigrant concentration on crime. However, little is known about how newcomers of distinct nationalities influence crime in the aggregate, particularly over time. This study examines how immigration measures disaggregated by country of origin impact violent and property crime rates and drug-related arrests in Texas counties from 2000 to 2019. Results from a series of fixed-effects linear regression models show no discernible relationship between various nationality measures and violent crime rates. However, increases in the Honduran, Salvadoran, Indian, and overall foreign-born population were associated with within-county decreases in property crime rates, while percent Salvadoran and percent Vietnamese were related to fewer drug arrests. We discuss the implications of these findings for research, theory, and current debates on U.S. immigration policy.