JD Vance's “Gangs of New York” commentary on immigration and crime makes no sense

Senator JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, defended his previous comments on immigration by citing the 2002 Martin Scorsese film “Gangs of New York” as an example of how immigration leads to higher crime rates.

During a campaign appearance at the Milwaukee Police Association on Friday, Vance was asked about his 2021 comments claiming that previous waves of immigration had led to an increase in crime. He was also asked whether he believed mass deportations – a key part of Trump and Vance's platform – had solved those problems. The Ohio senator responded by referencing the 2002 film in which an Irishman played by Leonardo DiCaprio avenges his father's death by infiltrating a violent anti-immigrant gang in the mid-19th century.

“Has anyone ever seen the movie 'Gangs of New York'? That's what I'm talking about,” Vance said. “We know that the formation of these huge ethnic enclaves in our country can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.”

He later added: “When there is massive illegal immigration, it actually creates ethnic conflicts and leads to higher crime rates. We have seen this clearly in recent years.”

Vance's reference to “Gangs of New York” as evidence for his racist claim about immigrants calls into question his understanding of the film. As Washington Post columnist Philip Bump noted in X, “the most brutal, cruel killer in this film is the native who loathes immigrants.” But Vance's claim is also false in terms of the real world: A whole series of studies have shown that there is no significant link between immigration and crime. In fact, research has repeatedly shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

Michael Light, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has published a paper on the subject, told Reuters in April: “Of course foreign-born people have committed crimes. But do foreign-born people commit crimes disproportionately more than native-born people? The answer is pretty clear: no.”

Yet cases of violent crime committed by migrants are attracting widespread attention across the country, not least because of the scaremongering that migrants are taking Americans' jobs and committing crimes – one of Trump's long-standing claims.

Vance has struggled to support Trump’s candidacy. Although many His past comments about women have drawn particularly harsh backlash when they resurfaced. In addition, Vance has made several comments in recent weeks – including on Friday – that have done nothing to improve the situation or increase his popularity.

Polls show that he has not made a good impression on Americans so far; his negative ratings have increased by more than nine percent since he was nominated as the Republican vice presidential candidate.