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Article
Latino Immigrant Acculturation and Crime
American Journal of Criminal Justice
  • Lorna L. Alvarez-Rivera, Valdosta State University
  • Matt R. Nobles, Sam Houston State University
  • Kim Michelle Lersch, University of South Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Keywords
  • Immigration,
  • Crime,
  • Arrest,
  • Acculturation,
  • Latino
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-013-9203-9
Abstract

Recent debate on the future of immigration policy in the United States has spawned much discussion on social costs and consequences for immigrants, such as employment, education, health care, and most notably, crime. Although recent Latino immigrants are often portrayed as outsiders in popular media, their successful acculturation into the American way of life may present more crime-related risk rather than less. This study examines arrest records for Latinos in two southwestern American cities to determine the extent to which Latino acculturation is related to arrests and convictions for both misdemeanors and felonies after controlling for certain legal and extra-legal factors. Results indicate that acculturation is consistently and positively associated with all four crime-related outcomes in this sample. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Citation / Publisher Attribution

American Journal of Criminal Justice, v. 39, p. 315-330

Citation Information
Lorna L. Alvarez-Rivera, Matt R. Nobles and Kim Michelle Lersch. "Latino Immigrant Acculturation and Crime" American Journal of Criminal Justice Vol. 39 (2014) p. 315 - 330
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kim-lersch/24/