A new study, led by the University of Cincinnati, finds that immigration is not related to increased drug overdose deaths in the United States.
The UC study gained national media attention by appearing in a Forbes magazine article, which states: The study contradicts the rhetoric from elected officials and office seekers who have blamed immigrants for crime and drug overdoses in the United States. The study shows immigrants in America are associated with fewer homicides and drug overdose deaths.
The study also notes that immigrants to the U.S. tend to be a select group of motivated individuals that are not particularly crime prone. Instead, they tend to have conventional values and goals (emphasizing work and family) and typically have higher than average levels of education, resources and resilience compared with others in their home country, all of which help to insulate communities from crime and drug activity.
To conduct the study, Feldmeyer secured a $215,000 research grant from the National Science Foundation. Study co-authors include Diana Sun, who earned her doctorate in criminal justice from UC and is now an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University; Francis Cullen, a UC distinguished research professor emeritus of criminal justice; and Casey Harris, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas.
The research team is continuing their work by examining how immigration trends are related to overdose rates across race/ethnicity and for different types of communities throughout the U.S.
Featured image at top courtsey of Unsplash.
