By Allan Bush, Elaina Joncic, and Carmen Salt
Immigration has been a hot topic for some time now but in recent years, it has become one of the leading focuses in the United States. A common misconception that’s been communicated is how crime rates have risen due to immigration— especially undocumented immigrants. The New York Times reported President Donald Trump’s statement in March of 2018 stating: “Every day, sanctuary cities release illegal immigrants, drug dealers, traffickers, gang members back into our communities,” he said. “Sanctuary cities are safe havens for just some terrible people.”
Multiple studies, including one by Robert Adelmen disagrees with the idea that more immigrants means more crime. In contrary, crime rates have gone down while the number of immigrants have gone up. The media often reports otherwise, contributing to the stereotype that immigrants are criminals and a threat to our nation. The podcast “Thoughts” explores this topic—diving into the statistics and damages that occur from this misconception.
Is there a connection between Undocumented Immigrants & Crime?
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump delivered a speech on illegal immigration at the White House from the Oval Office. This speech was conducted to address the nation on the crisis at our southern border. Trump started off his speech by stating: “Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country.”
This speech sparked controversy all over our nation when Democrats decided to “fact-check” Trump’s allegations. While there are two sides to every debate, here are a few statistics from both corners:
The Pros:
According to the Pew Research Center, the population of U.S. unauthorized immigrants declines from 10.7 million in 2016 to 10.5 million in 2017. *This equivalates to less than 4% of the total US Population* Since this information came from a sample survey, the interview was conducted on a sample of a population.
According to U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 105,140 immigrants who were arrested in 2018 were convicted criminals. Immigrant rights groups are accusing I.C.E. of misleading the public on crimes committed by illegal aliens which include minor charges such as very minor offenses and traffic violations.
The Cons:
The United States Department of Justice reported that more than one in five inmates in federal prisons are foreign-born and 93% of those people are illegally in the United States. “The illegal immigrant crime rate in this country should be zero,” said Attorney General Sessions. The argument is that any crime committed by an undocumented immigrant is a crime that should’ve been prevented.
According to a study conducted by John R Lott, illegal aliens are at least 142% more likely to be convicted of a crime than other Arizonans. They tend to be classified as more dangerous and are 45% more likely to be gang members than U.S. Citizens. If these illegal aliens committed crimes across the United States as they do in Arizona, in 2016 they’d be responsible for over 1,000 more murders, 5,200 rapes, 8,900 robberies, 25,300 aggravated assaults, and 26,900 burglaries.
Due to the consolidation of today’s media, it’s hard to distinguish the genuineness of information in today’s daily news sources. The six main corporations who cater to billions of viewers on a daily basis express the same biased opinions which result in a monopoly in the market. It’s unfortunate that we live in a day in age where any disclosed information is questionable and subject to reconfirmation through multiple media outlets.
There is little evidence to support the debate that illegal aliens pose a direct threat to US public safety and increase crime rates. Research indicates that the connection between undocumented immigrants committing crimes is higher than native-born Americans is indeed false. New Research on Illegal Immigration and Crime by Alex Nowrasteh reveals that in the state of Texas, illegal and legal immigrants both have lower incarceration rates and lower criminal conviction rates than native-born Americans. This is one of many studies that indicate this connection to be untruthful and fabricated.
Media has created the perception that crime rates have risen due to immigration but through research and studies, it has been proven that there is no direct correlation. Organizations like I.C.E. are misrepresenting crime rates by the inclusion of minor infractions such as traffic violations into a broader group of more serious crimes. The general public has a skewed view of what the actual crime rates are, which leads to the belief that statistics are much higher due to immigrants, which is not the case.
T.S.A. Travel Alert: What passengers need to know before October 2020
The “Spill the Tea” podcast, posted on Soundcloud, stemmed from TSA’s new travel alert. Beginning on October 1, 2020, everybody in the United States is required to have a star in the top right corner of their license. These new driver’s licenses are REAL ID-compliant meaning that they’re more secure than what was previously issued.
This act was passed by Congress in 2005. They’re attempting to cut down on domestic terrorism threats after 9/11. “They found that each state had different security guidelines for issuing state IDs or driver’s licenses,” Benson says. “And some were weak enough to allow for illegal copying or altering.”
What happens if you don’t get one by the deadline? Drivers who present a driver’s license without a star are considered not Real ID compliant and will not be permitted to fly.
Head to the Secretary of State office as soon as possible with a valid ID or passport, social security card and camera-ready hair for your new ID picture.
What happens if you don’t get one by the deadline? Drivers who present a driver’s license without a star are considered not Real ID compliant and will not be permitted to fly.
Head to the Secretary of State office as soon as possible with a valid ID or passport, social security card and camera-ready hair for your new ID picture.
Data Display: Immigration/ Border Security
"Overall, do you believe that immigration is good for the country or bad for the country?"
This graph is a poll of Republicans, Democrats & Independents on immigration in the United States being good or bad for the country. It shows the following:
Republicans (Good): 16.3%
Republicans (Bad): 10.7%
Republicans (Unsure/ No Answer): 6.3%
Democrats (Good): 29.0%
Democrats (Bad): 2.3%
Democrats (Unsure/No Answer): 2.0%
Independents (Good): 25.0%
Independents (Bad): 4.3%
Independents (Unsure/No Answer): 4.0%
This is a cumulative poll of the information above:
Good: 70.0%
Bad: 17.0%
Unsure/No Answer: 13.0%
*The visuals above show that a majority of people believe that immigration is good for our county*
This graph is a poll of whether illegal immigration across the U.S. Mexican border is a crisis or not. It shows the following:
A crisis: 35.0%
A serious problem but not a crisis: 45.0%
Not a serious problem: 18.0%
Not a problem/unsure: 2.0%
*The visuals above show that a majority of people believe that illegal immigration across the U.S. Mexican border is a serious problem but not a crisis*
his graph is a poll in dealing with illegal immigrants already living in the United States:
Plan for legal residency: 80.8%
Deportation: 15.2%
Unsure/refused: 4.0%
*The visuals above show that a majority of people believe that illegal immigrants already living in the United States should plan to become legal residents*
This graph is a poll that asks whether adding a citizenship question to cenus.gov is a good idea or a bad idea.
Good idea: 48.0%
Bad idea: 33.0%
Haven’t heard enough: 17.0%
Unsure/no answer: 2.0%
*The visuals above show that a majority of people believe that it’s a good idea whether or not the person participating in the census is a citizen of the United States*