Trump’s Myth about Immigrant Crime

President Trump, last night in his speech to Congress, continued to claim that illegal immigrants are major contributors to American crime. The facts do not support Trump’s myth.

We have heard, during the past 15 months, absurd statements that “Mexicans are rapists,” and that Muslims are terrorists.

Hysterical fear of immigrants has always plagued our country, despite the fact, that all Americans or their ancestors were immigrants. During past outbursts of immigration phobia in America, the Irish were called apes, Italians were described as street filth, and Chinese were called parasitic locusts. As with all immigrants, these groups and all immigrants have contributed to the greatness of America.

According to Pew research, the United States in 2014 had 11.1 illegal immigrants (3.5% of population) in the United States.

General census studies and macro-level studies have shown that immigrants including illegal immigrants have committed less crime than native born Americans.The NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH issued an abstract in 2007, which concluded that immigrants on the whole have a much lower crime rate than individuals born in the United States.

The American Immigration Council, a pro-immigrant nonprofit, analyzed data, from the 2010 census and found that 1.6 percent of immigrant males between 18 and 39 years old were incarcerated, compared to 3.3 percent of the native-born population in that same age group.

Stowell reviewed data from 1994-2004 and concluded that violent crime rates decreased as immigrant’s population increased. Researchers have opined that the lower crime rates for immigrants and illegal immigrants were the result of their goal to find employment and stability ( also the fear of being deported for any criminal activity).

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
Mark Twain

By:Bradley Schwartz
Founder of prisonpath.com