Local Context and National Consequences: Homicide Variations Across Time

Abstract

National concern over the impact of immigration on crime reappeared in 1980 after “Mariel” Cuban refugees landed in southern Florida. This event eventually energized largely dormant anti-immigrant groups and commentators who soon claimed “Hispanic immigrants” threatened “American” society by avoiding assimilation and created national security issues, among other problems (Huntington, 2004; Portes & Stepick, 1993). Immigrant opponents had long focused primarily on the consequences of Mexican border crossers on local economies and crime in the southwestern United States. But, “Mariel” soon generated opposition to the Cuban exodus, galvanized nativists, and nationalized the immigration issue by drawing attention to large numbers of newcomers outside of the Rio Grande area (Huntington, 2004). Unfortunately the immigrant/crime connection was not seriously considered throughout most of the 1980s, and the relevance of studying the effects of immigration on crime was not apparent until recent demographic transformations sparked research in this area.