Studies of the New Immigration: The Dangers of Pan-Ethnic Classifications

Abstract

After a prolonged period during which studies of immigration and crime virtually disappeared from the literature, the topic has reemerged as a central theme of contemporary criminology. However, unlike the classic immigration studies that appeared in the first half of the twentieth century, most modern studies combine the various countries of origin into broad pan-ethnic groupings (such as Hispanic/Latino or Asian) that implicitly assume that criminological dynamics are relatively homogeneous within these aggregations despite the important social, cultural, and historical differences that are subsumed. This article utilizes data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study to illustrate the systematic withincategory variation that such approaches can mask. © American Academy of Political & Social Science 2012.