Thread: Migrant crime numbers proportionate to population

Migrant crime numbers proportionate to population
Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 8, 2007 12:00 AM

No one knows the size of the undocumented-immigrant population in Arizona, and the distinctions between immigrants and illegal immigrants, particularly of Mexican origin, are blurred in many counts.

The 2005 U.S. Census update estimates that 450,000 Arizona residents - 8 percent - hold Mexican citizenship, regardless of their immigration status. In Maricopa County, Mexican nationals comprise 9 percent of the population.

The Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C., estimates the state's undocumented population at about the same size. And though all Mexican nationals are not undocumented, and all undocumented immigrants are not Mexicans, there is much overlap between those groups, both of which are thought to be undercounted. advertisement




The few records available regarding crime among Mexican nationals and undocumented immigrants also blur the distinctions. But they suggest that neither Mexican nationals nor undocumented immigrants are over-represented in felony prosecutions or incarcerated disproportionately. Undocumented immigrants were involved in 10 percent of felony cases tried by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office last year, while Mexican nationals accounted for 11 percent of all bookings in Maricopa County jails in 2006.

A tally of Arizona State prison inmates in early March found that 11 percent of them were Mexican nationals and 10.5 percent had "ICE detainers," meaning they were to be turned over to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials upon release.

Those numbers tell only part of the story. They don't reflect the number of misdemeanors committed by immigrants or undocumented immigrants, or the unreported crimes committed against an undocumented immigrant who is afraid to call police.

"It's important to get statistics and get the true story out and not just shoot from the hip," said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Arpaio has 160 deputies and detention officers undergoing training from ICE to teach them to identify and arrest undocumented immigrants. The first group has completed training and is using its new knowledge to detain and identify undocumented immigrants.

The statistics will help prosecutors answer questions regarding immigration status demanded by a new state law denying bond to undocumented immigrants suspected of committing serious crimes.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... side.html#

"It's important to get statistics and get the true story out and not just shoot from the hip," said Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Especially since there's a serious effort to "look the other way" with so many of the crimes committed.

The point is that there shouldn't be ANY crimes committed by illegal aliens, since they shouldn't be her in the first place.

Sorry, Dupe...