![\"Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore_2\"](\"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Donald_Trump_by_Gage_Skidmore_2-300x200.jpg\")
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“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
First,\u00a0how on Earth\u00a0did\u00a0his Trump\u2019s\u00a0poll\u00a0numbers\u00a0rise\u00a0after\u00a0saying\u00a0this?<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIt isn\u2019t\u00a0what\u00a0he said\u00a0it\u2019s that he said\u00a0something. Trump\u2019s statement reflects the outrage\u00a0and powerlessness\u00a0the public\u00a0feels about\u00a0an issue\u00a0that is spiraling out of control which\u00a0the\u00a0other candidates\u00a0are\u00a0dancing\u00a0around.\u00a0When Americans\u00a0speak freely about immigration\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0often\u00a0ignored, marginalized and demonized. Trump\u2019s statements — while not delicate or entirely factual — tapped into that raw emotion.\u00a0Most are not drug smugglers, or rapists. But the same open borders that have allowed millions of people to enter illegally in search of jobs, incontrovertibly allow dangerous criminals to enter as well.\u00a0And this week, in the wake of Kathryn Steinle\u2019s murder at the hands of an illegal\u00a0alien\u00a0deported five times,\u00a0Trump\u2019s comments\u00a0have spurred\u00a0a conversation about the link between crime and illegal immigration.<\/p>\n
So are\u00a0all\u00a0illegal\u00a0aliens\u00a0criminals?<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>All illegal aliens\u00a0break the law. The only way you can say they don\u2019t is to claim we have no immigration laws.<\/p>\n
The illegal alien population is composed of those who\u00a0cross the border illegally\u00a0and others who enter legally\u00a0but\u00a0overstay\u00a0their visas.\u00a0The former is a crime and the latter is a civil offense, both are deportable\u00a0offenses\u00a0under\u00a0the\u00a0Section 237\u00a0of the Immigration and Nationality Act,\u00a0which says: “Any alien who is present in the United States in violation of this Act or any other law of the United States is deportable.”<\/p>\n
So\u00a0they\u00a0violate\u00a0immigration\u00a0laws,\u00a0what\u00a0else<\/strong>?<\/p>\n
Violating immigration laws is\u00a0a serious offense. But if that\u2019s not enough, consider this: \u00a0those entering the country illegally\u00a0do not arrive with\u00a0background checks\u00a0in hand.\u00a0Of those apprehended, the Border Patrol reports that 1 in every 12\u00a0illegal\u00a0aliens has a criminal record. This\u00a0begs the question of how many\u00a0illegal aliens evade the Border Patrol\u00a0and\u00a0whether they have criminal histories.\u00a0And even if an illegal alien doesn\u2019t have a criminal history in the U.S. he may have one in his home country.<\/p>\n
But even if an illegal alien doesn\u2019t come to the U.S. with a criminal history,\u00a0the\u00a0initial breach of immigration laws is usually just the\u00a0first\u00a0offense in a series of other offenses including document fraud and identity theft and filing false information for jobs or benefits, all of which violate numerous state and federal laws.<\/p>\n
Illegal\u00a0entry\u00a0is a\u00a0criminal act\u00a0which begets more criminal behavior.<\/p>\n
What\u00a0really is known\u00a0about\u00a0illegal\u00a0immigration and\u00a0overall\u00a0crime\u00a0stats?<\/strong><\/p>\n
The illegal alien population of 11.7 million represents 3.6% of the U.S. population (318 million), yet illegal aliens\u00a0disproportionally\u00a0comprise13.6 percent of all offenders sentenced in the U.S. following a federal criminal conviction, excluding immigration violations.\u00a0As\u00a0reported by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, several categories of crime<\/a>\u00a0reveal\u00a0eye-popping percentages;\u00a0illegal aliens represent\u00a012 percent of murder sentences, 20 percent of kidnapping sentences and 16 percent\u00a0of drug trafficking sentences.<\/p>\n
Well,\u00a0at least they\u2019re all in jail\u00a0or being deported\u00a0aren\u2019t they?<\/strong><\/p>\n
No they\u2019re not.<\/p>\n
According to data published\u00a0by the\u00a0Center for Immigration Studies\u00a0(CIS),\u00a0derived from ICE, there are 168,680 convicted criminal\u00a0aliens\u00a0currently in the U.S. who have final orders of removal but who remain at large.\u00a0In most cases, an\u00a0immigration judge issues the order of removal when an illegal alien fails to show up for his deportation hearing and is never heard from again.<\/p>\n
The problem of absconders, however,\u00a0is now being exacerbated by criminal aliens\u00a0that\u00a0ICE has\u00a0simply released. \u00a0According to CIS, ICE has released over\u00a0179,018 convicted criminal\u00a0aliens while they await their deportation hearings.\u00a0In\u00a02014,\u00a0ICE released\u00a030,558\u00a0criminal aliens, who (combined) \u00a0had\u00a079,059 criminal convictions including 86 homicide convictions; 186 kidnapping convictions; 373 sexual assault convictions; 449 sexual offenses; 1,194 battery convictions; 1,346 domestic violence convictions; and 13,636 driving under the influence of alcohol convictions<\/p>\n
This year, ICE has already released 10,246 criminal aliens.<\/p>\n
And of those ICE actively released back onto the streets from 2010 to 2014,\u00a0121\u00a0have been charged with \u201chomicide-related crimes\u201d\u00a0according to fresh information provided by ICE to theSenate Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n
With\u00a0regard\u00a0to\u00a0deportations, those numbers are falling faster year-to-year than the Chinese stock market. \u00a0In 2013, 368,604 illegal aliens were removed, in 2014 there were 306,000 removed and this year only 117,181 have been removed.\u00a0Overall deportations are at their lowest point since the Ford Administration.<\/p>\n
Specifically,\u00a0the number\u00a0of\u00a0criminal\u00a0aliens deported from the interior has\u00a0declined by 43 percent<\/a>\u00a0since 2012, from 153,000 to 87,000.<\/p>\n
What is the acceptable level of crime we should tolerate from illegal aliens?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ask the widows\u00a0of\u00a0Sacramento Deputy Sheriffs Danny Oliver and Jeff Davis\u00a0who\u00a0were\u00a0recently\u00a0murdered by\u00a0Enrique Monroy-Bracamonte, a\u00a0twice-deported, convicted criminal illegal alien\u00a0who\u00a0fired his\u00a0gun\u00a0in the face of both\u00a0officers\u00a0if even one crime is acceptable.<\/p>\n
And, this week, consider if the family of Kathryn Steinle thinks there is\u00a0any\u00a0acceptable level of crime we should tolerate.<\/p>\n
Trump wasn\u2019t right and he wasn\u2019t wrong. Ultimately\u00a0he got us talking when we needed to the most.<\/p>\n
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Read more about crime and illegal aliens\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n