Immigrants, including undocumentedThey are less likely to be in prison than people born in the country, according to a study published by the Cato Institute, a rigorously non-partisan and independent public policy research organization.

The report, published on March 25, which examines the period between 2010 and 2024 using Census data, contradicts a common perception among many Americans that immigration is linked to increased crime.

“People often assume that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States, especially undocumented immigrants,” say Alex Nowrasteh and Michelangelo Landgrave, authors of the analysis.

“The tragic individual murders committed by immigrants seem to support this perception and affect the public debate on immigration policy. However, this perception is not supported by the facts,” they point out.

Lower incarceration rates among immigrants

According to the study, an estimated 1,605,032 people born in the United States, 79,825 undocumented immigrants, and 57,528 documented immigrants, aged between 18 and 54, were incarcerated in 2024.

According to these data, the incarceration rate for people born in the country was 1,195 per 100,000 inhabitants. In comparison, the rate was significantly lower among immigrants: 674 in the case of undocumented immigrants and only 303 in the case of documented immigrants.

This means that the undocumented immigrants They are approximately 44% less likely to be incarcerated, while documented immigrants are 75% less likely.

You may be interested:  Protests in Hertford against plan to reopen prison as an immigration detention center

A constant trend over time

The analysis shows that this difference is not new. Throughout the study period (2010–2024), immigrants maintained lower incarceration rates than those born in the United States. Moreover, rates have declined overall: 25% among native-born immigrants, 30% among undocumented immigrants, and 41% among documented immigrants.

Most of those imprisoned were born in the United States

Another key finding of the analysis is that more than 90% of the people incarcerated in the country are U.S.-born citizens.

Immigrants represent a much smaller proportion of the total. More than 72% of all immigrants in the United States come from the top 20 countries of origin for the foreign-born population.

Related:  What is the profile and how many undocumented immigrants are living in the United States?

Jamaica and Guatemala have the highest incarceration rates

According to the analysis, undocumented immigrants from Jamaica and documented immigrants from Guatemala have the highest incarceration rates; this is likely due to their presence in immigration detention centers by immigration violations in the case of Guatemalans and the small sample size in the case of Jamaicans.

91% of those incarcerated were born in  United States

The distribution of incarcerated individuals according to their immigration status and region of origin shows that:

• 7% of all those incarcerated are immigrants from Latin America
• 1% comes respectively from Europe, East Asia and Africa
• 91% are people born in the United States, regardless of their place of birth

Factors such as education and age have an influence

The study also highlights that people with lower levels of education are more likely to be incarcerated, regardless of their immigration status.

Likewise, men make up the vast majority of the prison population.

Implications for the migration debate

The authors point out that these findings should influence the debate on migration policies.

According to the report, directing police resources primarily to undocumented immigrants would not be an effective strategy for reducing crime.

Instead, they recommend focusing efforts on people who have committed serious crimes, without generalizing to the entire immigrant population.

>> Consult and/or download the Cato Institute study: Illegal Immigrant Incarceration Rates, 2010–2024

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Immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans, according to a study

by Walter Gomez, Enlace Latino NC
April 7, 2026

Enlace Latino NCApril 7, 2026 Immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, are less likely to be in prison than people born in the country, according to a study published by the Cato Institute , a rigorously nonpartisan and independent public policy research organization. The report, published on March 25, which examines the period between 2010 and 2024 using Census data, contradicts a common perception among many Americans that immigration is linked to increased crime. "People often assume that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States, especially undocumented immigrants," say Alex Nowrasteh and Michelangelo Landgrave, authors of the analysis. "The tragic individual murders committed by immigrants seem to support this perception and affect the public debate on immigration policy. However, this perception is not supported by the facts," they point out. Lower incarceration rates among immigrants According to the study, an estimated 1,605,032 people born in the United States, 79,825 undocumented immigrants, and 57,528 documented immigrants, aged between 18 and 54, were incarcerated in 2024. According to these data, the incarceration rate of people born in the country was 1,195 per 100,000 inhabitants. In comparison, the rate was significantly lower among immigrants: 674 in the case of undocumented immigrants and only 303 in the case of documented immigrants. This means that undocumented immigrants are approximately 44% less likely to be incarcerated, while documented immigrants are 75% less likely. You may be interested in: Protests in Hertford against plan to reopen prison as an immigration detention center A constant trend over time The analysis shows that this difference is not new. Throughout the entire period studied (2010–2024), immigrants maintained lower incarceration rates than those born in the United States. In addition, rates have decreased overall: 25% among those born in the country, 30% among the undocumented, and 41% among documented immigrants. Most of those imprisoned were born in the United States Another key finding of the analysis is that more than 90% of the people incarcerated in the country are U.S.-born citizens. Immigrants represent a much smaller proportion of the total. More than 72% of all immigrants in the United States come from the top 20 countries of origin for the foreign-born population. Related: What is the profile and how many are the undocumented immigrants living in the United States?Jamaica and Guatemala have the highest incarceration rates According to the analysis, undocumented immigrants from Jamaica and documented immigrants from Guatemala have the highest incarceration rates; this is probably due to their presence in immigration detention centers for immigration violations in the case of Guatemalans and the small sample size in the case of Jamaicans. 91% of those incarcerated were born in the United States The distribution of incarcerated individuals according to their immigration status and region of origin shows that: 7% of all those incarcerated are immigrants from Latin America 1% comes respectively from Europe, East Asia and Africa 91% are people born in the United States, regardless of their place of birth Factors such as education and age have an influence The study also highlights that people with lower levels of education are more likely to be incarcerated, regardless of their immigration status. Likewise, men make up the vast majority of the prison population. Implications for the migration debate The authors point out that these findings should influence the debate on migration policies. According to the report, directing police resources primarily to undocumented immigrants would not be an effective strategy for reducing crime. Instead, they recommend focusing efforts on people who have committed serious crimes, without generalizing to the entire immigrant population. >> Consult and/or download the Cato Institute study: Illegal Immigrant Incarceration Rates, 2010–2024 illegal_immigration_incarcerations_rates_2010_2024_cato_institute Download This <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org/nuevo-informe-contradice-mito-inmigrantes-cometen-mas-delitos-que-los-estadounidensesinmigrantes-cometen-menos-delitos-que-estadounidenses/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://enlacelatinonc.org">Enlace Latino NCand is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: "https://enlacelatinonc.org/nuevo-informe-contradice-mito-inmigrantes-cometen-mas-delitos-que-los-americanosinmigrantes-cometen-menos-delitos-que-americanas/", urlref: window.location.href }); } }

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