Experts Wrong on Immigration and Crime

A favorite theme among journalists and academics alike is the rarity of crimes committed by immigrants. As it turns out, that likelihood may depend on whether the immigrants themselves are here legally. “The crime rate among illegal immigrants in Arizona is twice that of other residents, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday, citing a new report based on conviction data,” Stephen Dinan reported in The Washington Times. “The report, from the Crime Prevention Research Center, used a previously untapped set of data from Arizona that detailed criminal convictions and found that illegal immigrants between 15 and 35 are less than 3 percent of the state’s population, but nearly 8 percent of its prison population.”

“And the crimes they were convicted of were, on the whole, more serious, said John R. Lott Jr., the report’s author and president of the research center. His findings also challenge the general narrative that immigrants commit fewer crimes.”

“Those past studies usually don’t look at legal versus illegal populations, Mr. Lott said.”

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