{"id":16392,"date":"2018-02-07T14:26:57","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T19:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=16392"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:59:15","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T15:59:15","slug":"battle-sharpens-criminal-aliens-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2018\/02\/07\/battle-sharpens-criminal-aliens-arizona\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle Sharpens Over Criminal Aliens in Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

A crime researcher and the open-borders Cato Institute are dueling over criminal illegal aliens in Arizona. Either way, the numbers look bad for public safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Lott, who heads the Crime Prevention Research Center<\/span><\/a> in Arlington, Va., says <\/span>illegal immigrants are \u201cat least 142 percent more likely to be convicted of a crime than other Arizonans.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the first in-depth analysis of criminal convictions<\/span><\/a> distinguishing between legal and illegal immigrants, Lott found that illegal aliens in the state <\/span>\u201ctend to commit more serious crimes, are more likely to be classified as dangerous and are 45 percent more likely to be gang members.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His findings were based on newly released data on all prisoners who entered the Arizona state prison system from January 1985 through June 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cato<\/a><\/span> says Lott\u2019s widely cited report<\/span><\/a> overstates the extent of illegals\u2019 crimes. The libertarian policy shop, which persistently spins numbers in defense of illegal immigrants, asserts that <\/span>government data used by the researcher were off by roughly 10 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Averring that some official reports may blur illegal-legal categories, Lott responded<\/span><\/a>, \u201c<\/span>Let\u2019s assume [Cato\u2019s] criticism is correct and that the breakdown is only about 90 percent correct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe estimated that undocumented immigrants accounted for 11.8 percent of prisoner convictions in Arizona, and that they make up about 4.8 percent of the population. If 10.5 percent of the people that we have listed as undocumented immigrants are actually documented immigrants\u00a0or temporary visa holders, that reduces undocumented immigrants\u2019 share of convictions leading to incarceration from 11.8 percent to 10.6 percent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat would still imply an undocumented immigrant conviction rate that is 121 percent higher than their share of the population,\u201d Lott says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Further, Lott adds, \u201cSo let\u2019s be cautious and assume that rather than 10.5 percent, the reduction should be 21 percent. Undocumented immigrants would still make up 9.32 percent of convictions and their share of convictions would\u00a0still<\/i>\u00a0be 94 percent greater than their share of the population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

By lazily lumping legal and illegal immigrants together, Cato researchers and others mute significant differences between the two groups. Immigration enthusiasts<\/span><\/a> leverage such generalizations to make the specious claim that \u201cimmigrants\u201d are more law-abiding than U.S.-born citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lott notes, \u201cJust as undocumented immigrants are more likely to be criminals, documented immigrants tend to be very law-abiding. The results here also show that legal Hispanics are more law-abiding than the average Arizonan. The perception that Hispanics are more likely to be criminals arises from not distinguishing between legal and illegal Hispanics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are dramatic differences between in the criminal histories of convicts who are U.S. citizens and undocumented immigrants,\u201d Lott asserts.<\/p>\n

His study found that young convicts are especially likely to be undocumented immigrants. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven after adjusting for the fact that young people commit crime at higher rates, young undocumented immigrants commit crime at twice the rate of young U.S. citizens,\u201d Lott said. \u201cThese undocumented immigrants also tend to commit more serious crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among that criminal cohort, Lott found <\/span>\u201cDACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) age-eligible undocumented immigrants (so-called \u201cDREAMers\u201d) are 250 percent more likely to be convicted of crimes than their share of the population.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n