RIGHT SPEAK: Texas Data Indicates Illegal Immigrants Have Higher Murder Rates; Misuse of Texas Data Understates Illegal Immigrant Criminality

Texas data indicates illegal immigrants have higher murder rates:

Texas crime data has been used for years to argue that illegal immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than the general population.

A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies says it’s all wrong. When the data is considered more broadly, the report says, rates of serious crimes such as homicide and sexual assault are substantially higher among illegal immigrants than among native-born and legal residents.

In 2012, Texas recorded three homicide convictions for every 100,000 people in the state. The rate among illegal immigrants is 30% higher, at 3.9 for every 100,000 people. Indeed, illegal immigrants showed a higher rate of homicide in all but one year from 2012 to 2019.

For sexual assaults, the rate among illegal immigrants is roughly double that of the general population, the Center for Immigration Studies found.

“At least when it comes to serious crime, illegals in Texas seem to have relatively high crime rates,” said Steven A. Camarota, one of the researchers on the report. “The argument to the contrary is based on a misunderstanding or a misreading of the data.”

The criminal behavior of illegal immigrants — beyond their initial illegal entry or visa violation that left them in unauthorized status — has raged for decades.

Supporters of sanctuary cities argue that illegal immigrant crime rates are low and the bigger danger would be to deter them from reporting crimes. Those who favor stricter enforcement argue that crimes committed by illegal immigrants wouldn’t happen if the government did its job. --->READ MORE HERE

Misuse of Texas Data Understates Illegal Immigrant Criminality:

Summary

Activists and academics have been misusing data from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) in studies claiming that illegal immigrants have relatively low crime rates. These studies do not appreciate that it can take years for Texas to identify convicts as illegal immigrants while they are in custody. As a result, the studies misclassify as native-born a significant number of offenders who are later identified as illegal immigrants.

Facts About the DPS Data:

Due to delays in identification, the number of illegal immigrants arrested or incarcerated in Texas is undercounted at any given time
Recently convicted illegal immigrants are the most likely to be undercounted.
Conversely, Texas is more likely to ascertain the immigration status of offenders who have served long prison terms for serious crimes.
The illegal immigrant conviction rate for “any crime” — which would be dominated by offenses requiring little or no prison time — is not meaningful due to undercount

Properly interpreted, the DPS data suggests that illegal immigrants in Texas are convicted of homicide and sexual assault at higher rates than the state average. Significant uncertainties remain, however, especially regarding lesser offenses.