Study: Second generation immigrants commit more crimes than their parents -- By Brenna Deutsch, The Daily Caller

New research shows that second generation immigrants in the U.S. may be more likely to commit crimes than their foreign-born parents.

A recent Pew study found that the crime rate among second generation immigrants is significantly higher than the rate amongst first generation immigrants, even during turbulent teen years.

The survey concluded that 25 percent of second generation 16-year-olds were caught committing a crime within the last year, while only 17 percent of recent immigrants were guilty of criminal activity during the same time period.

As first generation and second generation immigrants reach their mid-twenties, the crime rate gap between the two groups begins to close..

One explanation behind these findings, says the Center for Immigration Studies’ Jessica Vaughan, is that many children of immigrants live in environments that are highly susceptible to crime.  This exposure makes second generation Americans more likely to get involved in risky or illegal activities.

“It is 23 percent more likely that a young immigrant or a son of an immigrant is going to join a gang if there is a gang in the neighborhood,” Vaughn told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

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