Immigration not linked to increased crime levels

There is no link between immigration and increased levels of crime, a study spanning four decades has concluded.

Donald Trump has said his administration will publish a weekly list of criminal offences committed by non-US citizens – despite evidence showing "little support for the notion that more immigrants lead to more crime".

A team of researchers led by the University at Buffalo in New York examined census data and crime reports from 200 US cities in the years between 1970 and 2010.

They found "strong and stable evidence" that crime rates are not linked to immigration, said the study's lead author Robert Adelman, adding: "The results are very clear."

Higher levels of immigration are in fact related to a drop in some types of crime, they discovered.

Meanwhile, US officials said Monday said a series of 'routine' immigration raids across the United States last week rounded up more than 680 people for expulsion, most of them criminals.

The raids, which stirred worries in immigrant communities about a tough crackdown by the new administration of President Donald Trump, took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York.

While the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said the raids were part of "routine" operations against illegal and criminal immigrants, Trump said he was following up on his presidential campaign promise to send millions of migrants, mostly from Central America, back to their countries.