NOVANEWS
People hold up signs before marching to Trump Tower during a protest organized by the New York Immigration Coalition against President Trump in New York City. | Photo: Reuters.
A new study proves that immigrants actually commit far fewer crimes than people born in the United States, further debunking the myth pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump about immigrants and crime.
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The report, released by The Sentencing Project, drew on survey data analyzing 40,000 immigrants from countries around the world currently living in the United States, age 18 and older.
The study also found that higher levels of immigration in the last few decades may have contributed to the historic drop in crime rates, and that immigrants are underrepresented in U.S. prisons.
The study’s authors condemned Trump’s immigrant rhetoric, pointing to its factual incorrectness.
“Starting from his first day as a candidate, President Donald Trump has made demonstrably false claims associating immigrants with criminality,” they wrote.
“Policies that further restrict immigration are therefore not effective crime-control strategies. These facts — supported by over 100 years of research — have been misrepresented both historically and in recent political debates,” they added.
Earlier this month, Trump backed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric in a speech to Congress with this factually incorrect information about crimes committed by immigrants.
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“My administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and border security,” Trump said. “By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars and make our communities safer for everyone. We want all Americans to succeed, but that can’t happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.”
“As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak tonight and as I have promised,” he added.
But Trump’s claim that deporting migrants would lead to less crime was challenged by Steve Rattner, who worked for the Obama administration, and who tweeted, “Memo to Trump: immigrants are much less likely to be criminals than native-born Americans.”
He linked his tweet to a study by the Pew Research Center that showed new arrivals to the United States were far less likely to commit crimes than citizens born in the U.S., a conclusion similar to the one reached by The Sentencing Project.
At the meeting, Trump also revealed the creation of an agency called VOICE, Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. The new office, which he said at the times will “provide a voice” to families of crime victims, is set to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by immigrants, adding to the administration’s hostility against them.
