The operationalization of immigrant-related crime is difficult because there are little valid and reliable ethnic identifiers to conduct an analysis of various categories of immigrant and ethnic criminal activity. There are huge variations in the subcategories of nationality or citizenship in European countries. Many second and third generation immigrants adopt the nationality of their residence while masking their true ethnic affiliation. Illegal immigrants, asylum seekers, and migrant workers expand populations but are unaccounted for in official population data. Labor and employment are the most common reasons for illegal immigration. Immigration for work typically involves citizens of Eastern European countries moving legally and illegally to Western Europe. These minority populations are often victimized by organized crime elements but are unable to go to the police for help because of their illegal status. Many of these organized criminal elements are structured along ethnic affiliation, often with the same ethnic background as those they victimize. The most numerous increases in prison inmates are drawn from foreign national and ethnic minority members. In Northern European countries, distinct offense patterns of criminality have emerged along specific ethnic lines. Shoplifting offenses have increased for Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, and Russian immigrants since the disintegration of the communist regimes in Eastern European countries. Overrepresentation in illicit activities is particularly pronounced in the areas of drug trafficking and prostitution. The problem of migration control and clandestine migrant communities exacerbates the occurrence of illegal prostitution rings. The conceptualization of trafficking as a business has important implications for both researchers and policymakers. This raises the need to look at immigration checks in new ways, placing sharper focus on the institutions and vested interests involved rather than on the migrants themselves. International immigration is big business in Europe and is unlikely to disappear in the near future and likely to have a significant impact on the economies of European countries. 9 references