The Relationship Between Refugee Resettlement Patterns and Crime Rates

Abstract

This analysis researches the empirical relationship between refugee resettlement and crime rates across various counties in the United States during the period 2005-2015. Using crime data from the FBI Data Collections and refugee resettlement pattern data from the Department of Justice, this analysis looks at the incidence of crime, both locally (at the county level) and nationally. The analysis then controls for unemployment, population, state GDP, percentage of youth, education level, and year. In this analysis, a difference-in-differences regression model is used to determine whether any increase in crime is due to refugee resettlement or merely part of a national trend. Upon preliminary (yet inconclusive) analysis it appears that these results may concur with previous research in that fluctuations in crime rates are not due to refugees, with the exception perhaps of petty theft.