Illegal Immigration Crime Rate in USA: Key Facts

As an American, I’ve been keeping an eye on illegal immigration and crime in the USA. The topic is complex and stirs up intense debate. However, research shows immigrants, even those here without papers, are less likely to commit crimes than those born here¹²³.

Studies indicate immigrants are much less likely to go to jail than U.S.-born people¹. In Texas, undocumented immigrants are even less likely to commit crimes¹. And over a nine-year period, there’s no proof they caused an increase in crime¹.

Although there have been some crimes committed by illegal immigrants, the data overall says they’re not the main problem. In fact, first-generation male immigrants do better than U.S.-born men who didn’t finish high school, lowering their chance of going to jail¹.

Key Takeaways

• Immigrants are significantly less likely to be involved in criminal activities compared to the native-born population.
• Studies have found no correlation between undocumented immigration and an increase in violent or property crime.
• First-generation male immigrants outperform U.S.-born men who did not complete high school, reducing their likelihood of incarceration.
• The issue of illegal immigration and crime is complex, with nuanced data that challenges common misconceptions.
• Partisan politics have influenced the rhetoric around immigration, with Republicans often focusing on crime and legal issues while Democrats emphasize immigrants’ contributions.

Immigration Enforcement Actions and Criminal Convictions

In recent years, the U.S. government’s work on immigration has sparked intense discussions. Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows they used 190 facilities for detentions by December 31, 2023⁴. ICE is tasked with keeping around 34,000 people in detention daily, thanks to Congress’ support⁴.

Arrests of Individuals with Criminal Convictions

The ERO unit of ICE focuses on arresting noncitizens through targeted operations⁴. In Fiscal Year 2023, they made 170,590 such arrests, showing an increase from the year before⁵. Out of these arrests, 43% were due to previous criminal convictions or having charges⁵.

ICE detained 73,822 people with criminal records. These individuals were linked to 290,708 criminal charges and convictions, averaging four for each person⁵. Among these were severe charges like homicide and kidnapping, as well as numerous other offenses⁵.

Total Criminal Convictions by Type

ERO also focuses on removing fugitives wanted for severe crimes⁴. In the year 2023, they deported more known gang members and terrorists than before⁵. These numbers showed a notable increase over the previous period⁵.

Looking at data from 2001 to 2022, the figures show a decrease in criminal reasons for deportation listed in courts⁶. However, lawful residents face more criminal charges than those who enter the country unlawfully⁴⁵⁶.

Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Campaign Tactics

Donald Trump used anti-immigrant talk a lot during his 2016 campaign and time as president⁷. A CNN poll showed about half of Americans might agree with him about sending undocumented immigrants away⁷. US officials caught many people trying to enter the country illegally for three years in a row, reaching 2.4 million in 2023⁷. Lately, not as many people are trying to cross the border⁷.

Trump often talked about crimes by undocumented people to make others scared and against them⁸. Now, most Americans think President Biden isn’t doing enough to keep the border safe, even some Democrats⁸. One of Trump’s videos mixed news about crimes with Biden saying the border is safe, ending with the warning “You’re not safe in Joe Biden’s America.”

Trump liked to use individual stories and strong emotions to argue against people coming to the US without permission⁸. But, the latest FBI data shows violent crimes in the whole country went down last year, even with a big jump during the pandemic⁸⁹. Compared to those born in the US, illegal immigrants are less likely to have been in trouble for violent or drug crimes⁸.

⁹ A study talked about how Trump and others used mean language and clever talk to make people afraid of immigrants⁹. They said bad things about immigrants from Asia and Latin America, while also noting that more people from Africa and the Middle East were coming, along with Asians and Latin Americans⁹.

“You’re not safe in Joe Biden’s America.”

This quote from Trump’s video shows he wanted to scare people. He talked about undocumented immigrants in a way that made them seem dangerous, though they actually commit fewer violent crimes.

⁹ A study used computer tools to show how certain language made people in the US fear immigrants more⁹. The project looked at ways Trump and the news talked about ‘us’ and ‘them’⁹. They wanted to show how these leaders helped spread fear of immigrants across the country⁹.

Framing Immigration as a Crime Issue: A Historical Perspective

The discussion about immigration sometimes makes people from different backgrounds look bad, especially non-Europeans¹⁰. This way of thinking has shaped what people believe and what politicians say about immigration in the U.S.

Negative Portrayal of Non-European Immigrants

A research showed that when politicians talked about immigration, they were twice as likely to bring up crime words¹¹. This study also found a big difference in how politicians talked about Europeans compared to non-Europeans. They used ‘implicitly dehumanizing metaphors’ more often for Chinese, Mexicans, and others¹⁰.

Shift in Republican Immigration Rhetoric Since Late 1970s

Recently, there has been a big change in how people talk about immigration¹². The Republican Party has become more negative about it, similar to the tough stand in the 1920s, a period known for its strict immigration rules¹². This change in talk has influenced how people see immigration as a crime issue.

The context provided by looking at how non-European immigrants have been portrayed over time is crucial¹¹. It helps in making sense of the ongoing debates and misunderstandings around immigration and crime in the U.S.

Statistical Data	Reference
As of mid-2021, the Migration Policy Institute estimated from a U.S. census survey that there are 11.2 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.	11
Between the start of February 2021 and the end of September 2023, statistics from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics show that about 3.1 million migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and have no confirmed departure from the United States.	11
Additionally, between the same period, another 357,000 people flew into the United States through various programs, and an uncertain number of refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan entered the United States.	11
An estimated 1.6 million “got-away” individuals who were spotted by Border Control but not captured entered the U.S. through September.	11
The United States has a population of about 330 million, indicating that the undocumented share would be roughly between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.	11

¹⁰

Statistical Data	Reference
Immigrants in the USA have lower incarceration rates than natives across different ethnic groups.	10
Violent crime rates in the USA decreased by 34.2% while the undocumented population doubled to 12 million since 1994.	10
Cities with large immigrant populations like Los Angeles and New York also experienced declining crime rates.	10
Foreign-born men aged 18-39 had an incarceration rate of 0.7% in 2000, which is significantly lower compared to the 3.5% incarceration rate for native-born men in the same age group.	10
Foreign-born Mexicans had an incarceration rate of 0.7% in 2000, which is over 8 times lower than the rate for native-born males of Mexican descent, which stood at 5.9%.	10
The incarceration rate of foreign-born Chinese/Taiwanese men was only 0.2% in 2000, much lower than the 0.7% rate for native-born men of Chinese/Taiwanese descent.	10
Among Asian immigrant groups, foreign-born men had lower incarceration rates than natives, with those from India, Taiwan, China, South Korea, and the Philippines having particularly low rates.	10
High-school dropouts had a higher risk of incarceration, with native-born men without a high-school diploma having notably higher imprisonment rates compared to foreign-born counterparts across different ethnic groups.	10
Immigrants who had been in the USA for 16+ years were less likely to be incarcerated than their native-born counterparts.	10
Public perceptions often link immigrants with higher crime rates; in a National Opinion Research Center survey, 73% of Americans believed immigration is related to increased crime rates.	10

¹²

Statistical Data	Reference
In 1904, prison commitment rates for more serious crimes were quite similar by nativity for all ages except ages 18 and 19, where the commitment rate for immigrants was higher than for the native-born.	12
By 1930, immigrants were less likely than natives to be committed to prisons at all ages 20 and older, but this advantage disappears when looking at commitments for violent offenses.	12
The arrival rate of immigrants in the U.S. in 1907 reached almost 15 per 1,000 persons in the population during the third wave of immigration between 1900 and 1910.	12
In 1924, the National Origins Quota Act reduced the annual immigrant arrival rate to 2 per 1,000 in the population due to the quota system which set quotas based on figures reported in the 1890 federal census.	12
The 1917 Immigration Act included a provision to deport immigrants sentenced to at least one year in prison within five years of arrival in the U.S., or those convicted of serious offenses or prostitution.	12
In 1900, 66% of the foreign-born population in the U.S. resided in cities of 2,500 or more, with 38% living in cities of 100,000 or more, leading to theories about immigrants that were closely connected to urban life and social disorganization theory.	12

Estimating the Undocumented Immigrant Population

Determining how many undocumented immigrants live in the U.S. has been hard for a long time. Thankfully, recent studies are shedding light on this issue¹³.

A study by Yale-linked researchers estimated there are 22.1 million undocumented immigrants here¹³. They used a method called a demographic model. This model looks at things like how many people come here, stay past their visa, and how the population changes. They found a minimum of 16.7 million. But they say it could be as low as 16 million or as high as 29 million¹³.

This number is much higher than what past surveys said, which was around 11 million¹⁴. The difference may be because surveys aren’t very good for counting undocumented people. Also, new data on overstaying visas from 2015, released by the Department of Homeland Security, helped make a better guess¹³.

It’s key to understand that figuring out the undocumented immigrant population is tricky. There’s still a lot of uncertainty¹³. But, knowing there could be more undocumented people, it might mean their crime rate is even lower than what we thought before¹³.

The debate continues on how many undocumented immigrants are here and their impact on crime. Leaders and researchers want better ways to count them¹⁴. With immigration as a big issue, using solid data for discussions and decisions is fundamental¹⁴.

Immigrants Tend to be More Law-Abiding

Many think immigrants, especially those without proper papers, commit more crimes. But research shows the opposite. Immigrants follow the law better than native Americans.¹⁵

A big study, looking back 150 years, proves this. It discovered immigrants are less likely to end up in prison than those born in the U.S.¹⁵ Since 1960, the gap only grew. Now, immigrants are 60% less likely to be behind bars than U.S.-born citizens. ¹⁵ The study also found immigrant men face 60% less chance of being jailed than U.S.-born men today. ¹⁵

It’s clear: Both legal and not, immigrants commit fewer crimes than Americans¹⁵. Even those with less education don’t get in trouble as much as native-born Americans do¹⁵. A recent study on this topic is gaining attention. It’s named “Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap Between Immigrants and the U.S.-born, 1850–2020.”

This study, shared as a draft in July 2023, will soon publish in the American Economic Review: Insights¹⁵.

Further research backs the idea that immigrants are law-abiding. ¹⁶ For example, a Texas study showed Americans are more likely to commit felonies than undocumented immigrants.¹⁶ Earlier studies found first-generation immigrants less involved in crime. ¹⁶

Undocumented immigrants avoid breaking the law to stay in the country,¹⁶ and they come with unique goals. ¹⁶ Funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice supported this research. It used various data and keeps showing lower crime rates among undocumented immigrants¹⁶.

Support for these studies comes from the Cato Institute. Their work showed illegal immigrants in Texas get arrested less than native Texans.¹⁷ It also found if Texas-born were jailed as much as illegal immigrants, almost 1 million fewer Americans would be in jail. ¹⁷ An Institute study using 2016 data said illegal immigrants face fewer jails than those born in the U.S.¹⁷

Some data conflict because we don’t have all the facts. Yet, most studies agree immigrants, legal and not, are less likely to commit crimes than Americans¹⁷. This info counters common beliefs that tie immigration to higher crime rates.

illegal immigration crime rate in USA: Examining the Evidence

The idea that illegal immigration leads to more crime has been around for a while¹⁸. However, recent studies show a more complex truth. They found that in Texas, those not born in the U.S. were less likely to be arrested for serious crimes or drugs when compared to U.S.-born people¹⁸. It’s also clear that illegal immigrants have lower arrest rates for major crimes than legal immigrants or citizens born in the country¹⁸.

Little Evidence Undocumented Immigrants Commit More Crime

When researchers looked closely, they found fears about illegal immigrants and crime might be overblown¹⁸. For the first time, a study compared crime rates by being documented or not¹⁸. They discovered that for certain types of crimes, the arrest numbers didn’t go up over time. In fact, they went down for things like drug and property crimes¹⁸.

This means even if you double the estimated amount of illegal immigrants in Texas, their violent crime rates wouldn’t be higher than those born in the U.S¹⁸..

In 2017, after Trump’s orders, ICE arrests went up by 30%¹⁸. Yet, very few undocumented people are tied to serious crimes, well below the general American population¹¹.

When more people entered the country in 2019, the crime rates stayed the same. This was seen in California. There, they didn’t let police work with ICE, but crime didn’t go up. This shows illegal immigrants might not cause more crime than those born in the U.S¹⁹.

Statistic	Source
Undocumented immigrants in Texas were less than half as likely to be arrested for violent crimes or drug offenses and less than a quarter as likely to be arrested for property crimes compared to their U.S.-born neighbors.	18
Undocumented immigrants have lower felony arrest rates than legal immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens.	18
Estimates suggest that the undocumented population in Texas would have to be less than half as large as estimated for violent crime rates among such immigrants to match those of U.S.-born Americans.	18
About 3% of undocumented immigrants had felony convictions and 4% had serious misdemeanor convictions in 2015.	11

The belief that illegal immigrants are prone to crime is still strong¹⁹. Yet, extensive research doesn’t back this up¹⁸. Studies keep showing that there’s no clear link between illegal immigration and higher crime levels¹⁸¹⁹¹¹.

The Texas Data Debate

Texas is one of the only states tracking the immigration status of those in its justice system. Some studies show undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans²⁰. But, the info isn’t complete. Some undocumented folks might not have come into contact with authorities.

This means, not all data is in, and the full story on crime and immigration in Texas is hard to pin down²⁰.

The numbers from Texas are fascinating. Undocumented migrants in Texas were 26% less likely to be convicted of homicide than native-born Americans from 2013 to 2022²⁰. And legal immigrants were 61% less likely to be found guilty of this crime²⁰.

About 2.2 per 100,000 undocumented people got convicted of homicide, compared to 3 for native-born Americans²⁰.

Yet, the Texas data has sparked ongoing debates. Some research shows illegal migrants were responsible for 6% of murder convictions, while native-born Americans were linked to 90%²⁰. This is key because even though undocumented folks make up 7.4% of Texas’ population, native-born Americans far outnumber them²⁰.

Another point of discussion is that compared to the region, undocumented people from Latin America and the Caribbean had notably lower criminal conviction rates²⁰. Even though they might have a higher murder rate, they still had less homicides than native Texans²⁰.

The conclusion might surprise you. Legal immigrants had the lowest homicide conviction rate in Texas²⁰. This is especially interesting because Texas sees a lot of undocumented migration²⁰.

The Texas data debate brings up a lot of issues. While it points to lower crime rates among undocumented folks, understanding this link fully remains challenging. The mix of incomplete info and heated political discussions doesn’t make things easy²⁰²¹.

The data on homicides offers more insights. For example, from 2013 to 2022, native-born Americans had a conviction rate of 3.0 per 100,000. In comparison, legal migrants’ rate was 1.2, and for illegal immigrants, it was 2.2²¹.

In 2022 specifically, the conviction rate for native-born Americans was 4.9. Yet, illegal migrants had a lower rate of 3.1, while legal immigrants had the lowest at 1.8²¹.

During 2013-2022, Texas saw arrests of 729 illegal migrants, 765 legal immigrants, and 14,710 native-born Americans on homicide suspicions²¹.

The figures further show 145,254 illegal migrants, 159,138 legal migrants, and 3,113,693 native-born Americans were convicted of various crimes in Texas. On average, crime convictions were 685 for illegal migrants, 551 for legal migrants, and 1,321 for native-born Americans per 100,000²¹.

To fully grasp immigration and crime, a detailed understanding is crucial. While the data leans towards less crime by undocumented immigrants, the ongoing political debate and data gaps add layers of complexity to the issue²⁰²¹¹¹.

Laken Riley’s Murder and Anti-Immigrant Narratives

Laken Riley was a nursing student at the University of Georgia. Her tragic murder has sparked a big debate. It was done by an illegal Venezuelan migrant, some say²². This event has led to a stronger push by Georgia lawmakers in the Republican party. They are working to make it easier for immigration officials to do their job. This move is adding to the idea that crimes by immigrants are a big danger to everyone²².

Senator Katie Britt talked about Laken Riley’s murder in response to President Biden. She used it to say that illegal immigrants bring more crime²². Yet, many studies don’t support this idea. They show that immigrants, including those without papers, commit fewer crimes than native-born people¹⁹²³.

Research Findings on Immigrant Crime Rates

The Pew Research Center ran a survey recently. It found that 57% of Americans think more immigrants mean more crime¹⁹. Republicans are especially likely to connect immigration with crime, with 85% agreeing, in contrast to only 31% of Democrats¹⁹. Despite these beliefs, data shows that immigrants are actually less likely to break the law than people born in the US¹⁹²³.

A look at crime figures from cities welcoming migrants under Texas’ “Operation Lone Star” in 2024 is interesting. It shows that overall crime actually went down²³. This trend was seen in places like Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, New York, and Los Angeles as well²³. The bottom line is there’s no proof of immigrants causing more crime in the US, even though some people still believe it²³.

The idea of an “immigrant crime wave” is strong. It shows the impact of stories that make immigrants look bad. President Biden wants to improve border security by adding more agents and judges²². But, we need to remember that making policies based on actual facts is important. We shouldn’t make all immigrants look dangerous because of a few incidents¹⁹.

The sad case of Laken Riley’s murder shouldn’t be used wrongly for gaining political points. It’s not okay to spread ideas against immigrants without real proof²². Instead, using true information and having meaningful discussions about the real challenges is what will really help¹⁹²³²².

Persistent Belief in Immigrant Crime Wave Despite Evidence

Studies show that immigrants, including those without legal papers, commit fewer crimes compared to American-born folks. Yet, many still think there’s an “immigrant crime wave” happening²⁴. This shows that changing minds about immigrants and crime is tough, even when the facts are clear.

In New York City, for example, a business owner at a shelter for migrants thought they were bringing crime. But the police data there didn’t reflect this fear²⁴. It proves false beliefs can be hard to shake, even with proof against them.

The idea that immigrants are big on crime stretches back in history. It started with making non-European immigrants look bad, and talk from the Republican side changed in the late 1970s²⁵. These days, focusing more on policing immigration and using private prisons to hold “criminal aliens” keep this idea alive²⁶.

But the real numbers tell a different story. Immigrants actually have lower chances of being in jail than white Americans born here. The odds for them are even better if you look at African Americans, who are locked up more.²⁴ Plus, since 1880, new immigrants aren’t more likely to end up in prison than people from the U.S. originally.²⁴

Overcoming these deep-rooted ideas is a big challenge. It will take shared work to teach, question the main stories, and show the real evidence to fight the myth of an “immigrant crime wave.”²⁴

“Immigrants have been incarcerated at increasingly lower rates than U.S.-born males since 1960.”²⁴

Statistic	Value
Unauthorized immigrant population in the USA	Roughly 12 million, constituting 30% of all foreign-born individuals25
Unauthorized immigrant population from Mexico and Latin America	56% and 22%, respectively25
Unauthorized immigrant children in 2005	1.8 million, making up 16% of the total unauthorized population25

The truth is, the idea that immigrants are more criminal just doesn’t hold up when you look at the evidence²⁴. Challenging this myth will take working together to share the real facts and question the false stories that are told for political or economic reasons²⁶²⁵²⁴.

Conclusion

Illegal immigration and its link to crime in the USA is a multifaceted issue. Though 64% of 2018 federal arrests were non-citizens, who make up 7% of the population²⁷, studies generally show immigrants, even undocumented ones, are less likely to commit crimes. In Texas in 2018, for example, illegal immigrants had a 45% lower criminal conviction rate than native-born Americans²⁷. Also, areas with more undocumented immigrants see less violent crime¹⁷.

Over the years, people have often seen immigration as a crime issue, especially for non-European immigrants. This view has stayed, despite studies proving otherwise. These findings show that immigrants, even those legally here, don’t commit more crimes than the non-immigrant population¹⁷. Also, as immigrants spend more time in the U.S., they become more like native-born Americans regarding criminal activity¹⁸.

The info suggests we should focus policy talks and public views on real data, not on stories or emotions. Recognizing the full story behind illegal immigration and crime can help us make better policies. These policies can meet the needs of everyone in our society²⁷¹⁷¹⁸.

Source Links

1. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States_and_crime
3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/01/undocumented-immigrant-crime-rate-not-higher/72788637007/
4. https://www.ice.gov/spotlight/statistics
5. https://www.ice.gov/features/2023-year-review
6. https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/690/
7. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/03/us/politics/trump-immigration-deportations.html
8. https://apnews.com/article/border-immigration-trump-biden-rhetoric-2024-election-327c08045edcc200f850d893de6a79d6
9. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1710&context=etd
10. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/Imm Criminality (IPC).pdf
11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/02/29/truth-about-illegal-immigration-crime/
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831353/
13. https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/yale-study-finds-twice-as-many-undocumented-immigrants-as-previous-estimates
14. https://www.policinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Appendix-D_0.pdf
15. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2024/03/immigrants-are-significantly-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-the-us-born/
16. https://news.wisc.edu/undocumented-immigrants-far-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-in-u-s-than-citizens/
17. https://www.factcheck.org/2018/06/is-illegal-immigration-linked-to-more-or-less-crime/
18. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/undocumented-immigrants-are-half-as-likely-to-be-arrested-for-violent-crimes-as-u-s-born-citizens/
19. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/us/border-migrants-crime-cec/index.html
20. https://www.alexnowrasteh.com/p/illegal-immigrants-and-crime
21. https://www.newsweek.com/texas-migrants-commit-61-fewer-homicides-americans-study-finds-1918325
22. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/09/1237179284/how-the-death-of-georgia-nursing-student-laken-riley-led-to-a-debate-about-immig
23. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trumps-claims-migrant-crime-wave-are-not-supported-national-data-rcna140896
24. https://siepr.stanford.edu/news/mythical-tie-between-immigration-and-crime
25. https://items.ssrc.org/border-battles/the-myth-of-immigrant-criminality/
26. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/criminalization-immigration-united-states
27. https://www.econlib.org/does-illegal-immigration-help-to-reduce-crime/