American Economic Review: Insights
ISSN 2640-205X (Print) | ISSN 2640-2068 (Online)
Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap between Immigrants and the US-Born, 1870–2020
American Economic Review: Insights
vol. 6,
no. 4, December 2024
(pp. 453–71)
Abstract
We provide the first nationally representative long-run series (1870–2020) of incarceration rates for immigrants and the US-born. As a group, immigrants have had lower incarceration rates than the US-born for 150 years. Moreover, relative to the US-born, immigrants' incarceration rates have declined since 1960: immigrants today are 60 percent less likely to be incarcerated (30 percent relative to US-born Whites). This relative decline occurred among immigrants from all regions and cannot be explained by changes in observable characteristics or immigration policy. Instead, the decline is part of a broader divergence of outcomes between less-educated immigrants and their US-born counterparts.Citation
Abramitzky, Ran, Leah Boustan, Elisa Jácome, Santiago Pérez, and Juan David Torres. 2024. "Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap between Immigrants and the US-Born, 1870–2020." American Economic Review: Insights, 6 (4): 453–71. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20230459Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- K37 Immigration Law
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
- N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- N41 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
- N42 Economic History: Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation: U.S.; Canada: 1913-