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The question remains, however, why is it that after just one generation in the USA, the rate of involvement in crime among immigrants quickly rises to levels that mirror those of the native-born population? Is this pattern reflective of a general process of assimilating into the normative behavioral repertoire of mainstream American youth or, as segmented assimilation theory would suggest, are certain segments of the immigrant second generation are on a downward trajectory assimilating into cultures espousing deviant behavior? Future research should aim at uncovering the factors that buffer first generation immigrants from crime and relatedly, the factors that promote criminal behavior among the children of immigrants.
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While empirical studies have demonstrated an increase in crime among the children of immigrants compared to their foreign-born peers, the strategy of analyzing group averages may mask important deviations from the mean trajectory. The potential for, and perhaps expectations of, deviations from average trajectories is explicit in contemporary theory aimed at understanding immigrant processes. For instance, noting the enormous diversity found within today's immigrant population, Portes and Zhou (1993) proposed a theory of segmented assimilation. Whereas classic assimilation theory assumed a relatively uniform, linear process of adaptation and assimilation across successive immigrant generations (see, e.g. Warner & Srole, 1945), segmented assimilation theory posited that not all immigrants follow a pattern of ascendance up the social ladder. Although some (and perhaps most) immigrants follow the traditional pathway of upward mobility, others evidence no mobility or may even follow a pathway of downward mobility assimilating into a deviant lifestyle exhibiting low educational achievement, marginal occupational status, and involvement in crime (Portes & Rumbaut, 2006).
