The Importance of Immigration With Future Research About School Safety

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stressed that school violence is a top public health concern due to long-lasting detrimental effects on students’ physical health and emotional well-being. Thus, funding and the implementation of school safety policies and programs have increased over the years because schools are contexts of socialization that directly influence development, educational progress, and life-course trajectories. It is also evident that vulnerable and marginalized youth, such as the children of immigrants, are more likely to attend disadvantaged, violent, and disorderly schools. There is some question, however, if a “one-size-fits-all” approach toward making schools safe can be realized without considering the distinct vulnerabilities that the children of immigrants face in school. In this article, we present, depict, and discuss how immigration could matter in school safety efforts. We also make an argument for future criminological research to assess if school policy efforts are indeed providing healthy and safe learning environments for all students, including the children of immigrants.