Homicide risk among immigrants in California, 1970 through 1992.

Abstract

According to the death certificates of the 65,510. California residents who died of homicide from 1970 through 1992, foreign-born persons are overrepresented in the homicides of California residents. Analysis of homicide data for 15- to 34-year-olds (n = 38,774), who account for a majority of all homicide victims indicated that immigrant-to-nonimmigrant risk patterns differed by ethnicity and across time. During the 23-year study period, foreign-born Whites, Hispanics, and Asians and others were at significantly higher risk and foreign-born Blacks were at a statistically similar risk of homicide compared with their US-born counterparts (risk ratio = 2.12, 1.24, 1.72, and 0.60, respectively).