We estimate the effect of legal status on the number of crimes committed by immigrants in the destination country, exploiting the Italian policy framework as an ideal regression discontinuity design: fixed quotas of residence permits are available each year, applications must be submitted...

Do migrants lead to an increase of crime rates in their host societies? This highly contentious issue has become a mainstay in the political debate and a lightning rod for the galvanization of populist movements, despite often lacking any empirical support. In this game-changing book, the...

Immigration enforcement has ambiguous implications for the crime rate of undocumented immigrants. On the one hand, expulsions reduce the pool of immigrants at risk of committing crimes, on the other they lower the opportunity cost of crime for those who are not expelled. We estimate the effect...