U.S.-born blacks and Latinos are more likely to be incarcerated than foreign-born ones

Teresa Watanabe:

Another study released Monday by the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center showed that immigrant men ages 18 to 39 had an incarceration rate five times lower than native-born citizens in every ethnic group examined. Among men of Mexican descent, for instance, 0.7% of those foreign-born were incarcerated compared to 5.9% of native-born, according to the study, co-written by UC Irvine sociologist Ruben G. Rumbaut.

The longer an immigrant was in the country, the more likely he was to be incarcerated:

The co-author of the crime study was Walter A. Ewing, a research associate at the Immigration Policy Center. Among other findings, the study showed that the gap in incarceration rates between native-born and foreign-born men was wider in California. Incarceration rates, which rose the longer an immigrant was in the country, were highest among high school dropouts. Those of Asian descent generally showed lower incarceration rates and higher educational levels than Latinos.

Percent incarcerated in U.S., by racial/ethnic group*

Black
Foreign-born: 2.5%
U.S.-born: 11.6%

Latino
Foreign-born: 1.0%
U.S.-born: 6.7%

White
Foreign-born: 0.6%
U.S.-born: 1.7%

Asian
Foreign-born: 0.3
U.S.-born: 1.9%

* Males ages 18-39, as of 2000

Hat tip, Steve Sailer!

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