criminals/?utm_term=.d9962af916ee. Be aware that this fear tactic is not unique to Donald Trump and his campaign 
and has been going on forever. Additionally, fear may change, but fear is an excellent tool to get people to 
support an agenda. Border control became a hot button, and the argument was that we would remove crime 
and criminals. This myth was created and ‘sold’ to citizens via social media, news, films, and other media 
outlets. 
First, find two news articles that argue that immigrants are dangerous and bring crime to the United States. 
Second, 
read 
both 
NPR 
links 
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/22/622540331/fact-check-trump-illegal-
immigration-and-crime https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5365863 
Third, evaluate current belief systems before and after reading these. Write a summary of the knowledge gained 
from merely double-checking news outlets. 
BONUS: To learn even more go and find peer-reviewed research and government research to support the 
argument that immigrants do not bring crime and are not more dangerous. Start with Sampson. 2008. Rethinking 
Crime and Immigration https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/ctx.2008.7.1.28 
Chavez, L. (2001). Covering immigration: Popular images and the politics of the nation. About this book: Media 
images not only reflect the national mood but also play a dominant role in shaping national discourse. This book 
brings new questions about the media’s influence over the public’s increasing fear of immigration. 
Immigration 
Reduces 
Crime http://www.umass.edu/preferen/You%20Must%20Read%20This/
Lee%20Immigration%20and%20Crime.pdf 
The article below is a great opinion piece about media and crime. 
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/apr/15/opinion/op-51152 
 
Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System
47