Five reasons why immigrants aren’t bringing higher crime, as Trump claims

(CNN) – Americans have often linked immigrants with crime. During the 19th century, for example, native-born Americans were flooded with messaging that branded Irish immigrants as both violent and subhuman. The association of Chinese immigrants with opium use, also in the 19th century, led to charges that these individuals were bringing vice and crime to the United States, leading to several anti-immigrant laws. The immigration of millions of Italians in the early 20th century prompted similar concerns about their supposed violent tendencies. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly stoked this fear, harkening back to those earlier concerns. In launching his 2016 presidential campaign, he declared of Mexican migrants, “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” On this past St. Patrick’s Day, he called migrants entering the United States “people coming in from prisons and jails, long-term murderers,” and the day before, he called them “animals” and “not people.” Related Stories Does immigration actually raise crime rates? Many Americans certainly think so. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, a majority responded that the large number of migrants entering the United States is causing more crime. However, just because many people believe something...