Page images
PDF
EPUB

s against public policy, 20.5 per cent; and of those whose consisted of offenses against chastity, 21.1 per cent.

le case of 11 races, over one-fourth of the alien prisoners under e for gainful offenses who reported years in the United States en here less than three years at the time of commitment. aces and their proportions of such prisoners are as follows:

Canadian (other than French).... 32. 0
French...

51. 8 43.3

[blocks in formation]

31.0

28.7

27.4

26.5

e case of the following 7 races, over one-fourth of those prisonfined for offenses of personal violence who reported years United States were committed within three years after their

[blocks in formation]

e case of 10 races a like condition existed with regard to s guilty of offenses against public policy. These races are:

[blocks in formation]

isoners whose crimes consisted of offenses against chastity portion whose commitment occurred within three years after n this country exceeds 25 per cent in the following 6 races:

[blocks in formation]

shown in the table following, which summarizes these facts, an one-fourth of the Russian and Polish prisoners under , for each of the four classes of crime, had been in the United ss than three years at the time of commitment. In addition two races, the Greek, South Italian, Magyar, and Slovak portions exceeding 25 per cent in the groups of prisoners for offenses of gain, of personal violence, and against public For five other races the proportion of prisoners committed ree years after arrival exceeds 25 per cent in two classes of These races are the African, Canadian other than French, , French, and North Italian. For four other races-the Finhuanian, Mexican, and Scotch-the proportion exceeds 25 in one class of crime.

TABLE 41.-Per centa of alien prisoners committed for each class of crime whose commit ments occurred within three years after arrival in the United States: 1908.

[Compiled from data of Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.]

[blocks in formation]

a Based on number reporting years in the United States.

Selecting the crimes of abduction and kidnaping, violent assault, blackmail and extortion, burglary, homicide, robbery, and rape as probably the most serious offenses, it is found that 3,769 of the alien prisoners who reported years in the United States were under sentence for these offenses. Of these, 876, or 23.2 per cent, had been here less than three years at the time of their commitment.

In the following table is shown by race the percentage which the prisoners committed for such crimes within three years after arrival in the United States formed of the total number under sentence for like offenses who reported years:

TABLE 42.-Per cent of alien prisoners committed for abduction and kidnaping, violent assault, blackmail and extortion, burglary, homicide, robbery, and rape whose commitments occurred within three years after arrival in the United States: 1908.

[Compiled from data of Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.]

[blocks in formation]

THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN CRIMINALS INTO THE UNITED STATES.

In addition to the foregoing statistical study of immigrant criminality in the United States, an investigation was made of the entry into this country of immigrants having criminal records abroad.

More than 500 cases were investigated in New York and some 70 penal certificates were secured from Italy. As a result of information furnished by the Commission a number of Italian criminals were deported. In fact, the first penal certificates, on which was founded the plan of securing such certificates on a large scale for use in deporting Italian criminals, were given to the New York police by the Immigration Commission. This plan, if carried out thoroughly by the immigration authorities, will go far toward ridding the country of an extremely undesirable class.

This special investigation has made it clear that the ranks of immigrant criminals in this country are recruited more or less from members of the same class abroad. It has shown that persons convicted abroad of crimes "involving moral turpitude" do enter the United States in violation of the statute of exclusion. But it has also brought out the fact that even under ideal conditions it would be impossible, without changing the existing law, to keep out of the country persons living on the borders of crime but unconvicted of any specific offense-immigrants against whom the present law is impotent and yet who are evidently highly undesirable. It has also been made clear that too great barriers are placed in the way of deporting foreign criminals when once they are discovered, and that identification of immigrant criminals, obviously difficult, should be facilitated.

At least three classes of immigrants who are highly undesirable because of their criminal propensities succeed in entering the United States:

1. Those who have been convicted of crime abroad and have served out their sentences.

2. Those who have been convicted of crime by foreign courts during their absence from the place of trial, having escaped arrest and fled the country.

3. Those who are regarded at home as dangerous or suspicious persons and are therefore kept under observation by the police, although convicted of no offense.

Evidently the present immigration law provides for the exclusion of only the first of these three classes-criminals convicted by foreign courts, before their arrival in the United States, of crime "involving moral turpitude."

It is clear that regulations should be made to check this entrance of criminals and to better provide for the deportation of those who succeed in entering.

IMMIGRATION AND INSANITY.

The complete report of the Immigration Commission on this subject.

« PreviousContinue »