Immigrant Sanctuary Policies and Crime-Reporting Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis of Reports of Crime Victimization to Law Enforcement, 1980 to 2004

Abstract

Sanctuary jurisdictions have existed in the United States since the 1980s. They have recently reentered U.S. politics and engendered contentious debates regarding their legality and influence on public safety. Critics argue that sanctuary jurisdictions create conditions that threaten local communities by impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. Proponents maintain that the policies improve public safety by fostering institutional trust among immigrant communities and by increasing the willingness of immigrant community members to notify the police after they are victimized. In this study, we situate expectations from the immigrant sanctuary literature within a multilevel, contextualized help-seeking framework to assess how crime-reporting behavior varies across immigrant sanctuary contexts. We find that Latinos are more likely to report violent crime victimization to law enforcement after sanctuary policies have been adopted within their metropolitan areas of residence. We argue that social policy contexts can shift the nature of help-seeking experiences and eliminate barriers that undermine crime victims’ willingness to mobilize the law. Overall, this study highlights the unique role social policy contexts can serve in structuring victims’ help-seeking decisions.

The local effects of federal law enforcement policies: Evidence from sanctuary jurisdictions and crime

“…This provides an additional data point using different identification assumptions, an alternative definition of SJs, and a differing time period of analysis. The negative impact on violent crime is most consistent with the hypothesis that SJs can enhance trust in local law enforcement, improve reporting (Martínez‐Schuldt & Martínez, 2021), and deter potential criminals from offending. This is consistent with the hypothesis discussed in Lyons et al.…”

“…For instance, trust between law enforcement and local communities can lead to more cooperation with investigations, which may increase the probability of solving crimes when they occur (Carr et al., 2007; Hagan et al., 2018). Martínez‐Schuldt and Martínez (2021) find that Latinos are more likely to report crimes after the establishment of an SJ. This would increase the likelihood of an arrest after a crime.…”

“…Others advocate for SJ policies because the threat of deportation for minor offenses can erode trust in authority and lead to less effective policing. For example, Martínez‐Schuldt and Martínez (2021) find that immigrants increase crime reporting rates after SJ policies are implemented. This implies that SJs can enhance the effectiveness of policing and can thus better deter potential criminals.…”

“…These costs include higher crime rates, suggestive of less effective policing. The increase in crime could result because local cooperation with federal immigration authorities decreases crime reporting among Latino communities (Martínez-Schuldt & Martínez, 2021). In general, accounting for interactions between federal policy and local governments can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public policies.…”

Criminal Careers and Immigration: An Analysis of Offending Over the Life Course Among Homicide Inmates in Texas

“…Some of these are short games, but others are longer. We remain optimistic that the findings reported in this paper will help to continue to build the research base in helping to promote policies that are based on the most objective scientific evidence, including in particular the discussions surrounding sanctuary jurisdictions and criminal activity (Kubrin & Bartos, 2020; Martínez-Schuldt & Martínez, 2021).…”