Open-border advocates make the slippery claim that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. Yes, of course this must be true ... since there are 15 to 30 times more of the latter than the former. This oft-repeated mantra is meant to deceive and, unfortunately, it often does.
However, the proper comparison would be on a proportional basis. Illegal immigrants represent about 14 percent of our federal prison population (66% of 21% ... see: Center for Immigration Studies Stats) and less reliable reports have this same approximate proportion in many state prisons and local jails. And, depending on your source, illegal immigrants represent 3% (at 11 million) to 7% (at 23 million) of our nation’s total population (323 million). Sooo, illegal immigrants must proportionally commit from 2 to almost 5 times the crimes of our native-born population.
QED.
George, how many of these illegal immigrants are in jail only because they are illegal immigrants?
ReplyDeleteVery few ... it’s not a federal offense to enter illegally (catch and release). I think only blatant repeat offenders might quality. I’ll research further ...
DeleteThe sale article referenced states that 29 percent of these numbers were in federal prisons for immigration charges (i.e., human trafficking, multiple illegal entry, etc.). This means that one could still claim 1.4 to 3.5 times the rate of native born criminals. The largest crime category is drug trafficking. Rad the CIS article ... edifying.
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