Times Telegram: Study: Crime rates drop as refugees move in

Nine out of 10 cities that received the most refugees relative to the size of their total population have experienced a decrease in their violent crime rates and property crime rate, according to a recent study.

Utica, where refugees make up about 20 percent of the total population, experienced an approximate 20 percent decrease in both categories, according to a study released Feb. 7 by the Partnership for a New American Economy.

On the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, which temporarily banned refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries based on claims of terrorism-related national security concerns — which currently is blocked by a federal appeals court ruling — Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees Executive Director Shelly Callahan said it’s important to inject facts into the conversation.

“When you look at the presidential election leading up to this, it wasn’t just some people …; our current president was saying that Mexicans were rapists and drug dealers and Muslims were terrorists and rapists and God knows what else,” Callahan said. “So I think people want to insert some facts, actual facts corroborated by data into the conversation.”

Read the full article from the Times Telegram: “Study: Crime rates drop as refugees move in”
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