Libertarian think tank, CATO, has recently released a bulletin, Immigrants and Crime: Perception vs. Reality, that finds crime among recent immigrants is less than or no higher than the rest of the population.
Data show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born, a pattern confirmed by a 2008 study of data from California.
The bulletin summarizes with:
Much of the lawlessness and the violation of the rights of property owners could be eliminated with the introduction of increased legal means of entry for the foreign-born to work in the U.S. Foreign-born workers do not wish to cross hazardous terrain or risk kidnapping at the hands of smugglers any more than an American would. The best way to reduce lawlessness along the border is to put in place a work visa law that removes the profits from smugglers and thereby reduces the risks faced by would-be foreign workers and U.S. property owners.
Earlier studies from from CATO and the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center has found that immigration is good for the economy.
The Libertarian Platform on free trade and migration states:
Political freedom and escape from tyranny demand that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders. However, we support control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a credible threat to security, health or property.
During the July 7, 2010 CATO Daily Briefing, immigration perceptions and realities were the topic of the day.