Lawmaker Upholds Lawbreakers

More Misinformation from the Media:

The fact is, study after study has shown undocumented residents commit fewer crimes and are incarcerated at a much lower rate than those born in this country. Yet under the Trump Administration, arrests of undocumented residents have increased nearly 40 percent from the same period in 2016, including 10,800 people with no criminal record—a 150 increase. Trump wants to commandeer local police to help deport the very people who contribute so much to our culture and economy. When local police enforce immigration laws, they rapidly lose the trust of the undocumented community. Crimes go up for fear of arrest and deportation. . . . [We need to fix] our dysfunctional immigration system by creating a path to citizenship. – Why California Must Defy Trump on Immigration, Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20/17. [Link Here]

Fact Check: The claim that “undocumented” [i.e., illegal] residents commit fewer crimes than Americans is one immigration advocates keep repeating no matter how many times that claim is refuted. So we will have to keep on refuting it. Illegal aliens commit more crimes than natives because all of them, by definition, break immigration laws, and commonly they commit other violations to maintain their illegal residence. Examples include document fraud and tax evasion.

So why does Sen. de Leon complain about arrests of illegal aliens “with no criminal record?” Evidently like most illegal alien advocates, he doesn’t seem to think that immigration law violations and related violations are significant enough to be called laws. Thus they use the dishonest euphemism “undocumented” to describe illegal behavior. Despite assertions to the contrary, illegal immigration is not a victimless crime. It harms American workers, drains taxpayers, and fosters a culture of corruption. That’s hardly a contribution to “our culture and our economy.”

But what is the truth about crimes not related to illegal residence, particularly crimes of violence and crimes against property? The reality, contrary to Sen. de Leon’s assertion, is that there are no comprehensive data about these crimes by illegal aliens. All we have are bodies of statistics which at best provide only part of the picture. Some researchers charge that authorities don’t want the full picture known. But what can be pieced together from those statistics suggests a crime rate by illegal aliens higher than that of natives.

The idea that local authorities assisting immigration law enforcement will harm enforcement in general is one commonly expressed by illegal alien advocates. But significant research shows that this so-called “chilling effect” does not happen. If police want an illegal alien to testify about a crime, that person can be protected from deportation in such a case.

It is sad that a lawmaker like Sen. de Leon seems to have such little respect for the law, and even calls for defiance of President Trump’s very reasonable and legal steps against jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement. His main interest seems to be a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens. Could one reason be that he views legalized illegal aliens as a voting bloc for his party?

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here