From Newsgroup: alt.privacy
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-jeff-sessions-arizona-crime- ebfcdaf2e4c4b0bd2d70232e53234491
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.
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.
Mr. Lott said the Arizona data is able to peek behind that curtain,
and the differences between the populations were stark.
“There appears to be a huge difference between the two groups,” Mr.
Lott said. “The type of person who goes through the process to
legally immigrate in the United States appears to be very law-abiding
versus even the U.S.-born population. The reverse is true for
undocumented immigrants they are committing crimes, and more serious
crimes.”
Among nearly 4,000 first- and second-degree murder convictions,
undocumented immigrants accounted for nearly 13 percent significantly
higher than their percentage of the population. Legal immigrants, by
contrast, were less than 1 percent of convicts. Native-born made up
the rest.
Undocumented immigrants also accounted for five times the rate of
convictions for money laundering and kidnapping, and were three times
more likely to be convicted of drive-by shootings.
The data covered from 1985 to 2017. For his data purposes, Mr. Lott
defined undocumented immigrants as those who weren’t U.S. citizens or
green card holders, signaling permanent residency.
He said the crime rates of the undocumented who were ages 18 to 35
was particularly important, given the ongoing debate over legalizing
illegal immigrant “Dreamers.” He said the Arizona data showed that
population had crime rates 250 percent higher than their share of the population would have predicted.
The Washington Times had asked several experts to look at Mr. Lott’s
research paper but some didn’t respond, while one said he was unable
to get Mr. Lott’s data and had questions about Mr. Lott’s methodology.
Mr. Lott said told The Times that the data belonged to Arizona and
his agreement was that he wouldn’t give out the raw data without
their approval.
Mr. Sessions’ citation of the data Friday inserted the information
directly into the ongoing immigration debate.
“They’re more likely to be convicted of sexual assault, robbery, and
driving under the influence. They’re more than twice as likely to be
convicted of murder,” Mr. Sessions said in remarks prepared for a
speech in Norfolk, Virginia.
He continued: “Tens of thousands of crimes have been committed in
this country that would never have happened if our immigration laws
were enforced and respected like they ought to be.”
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