Thread: Does Illegal Immigration Lead to More Crime?

Undocumented Immigrants Make up 7 Percent of Arizona's Population, but 15 Percent of the Prison Population

(CBS) Arizona's new immigration law empowers police to ask anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally for ID. The Obama administration calls it unconstitutional.

Thursday, Justice Department lawyers asked a federal judge in Phoenix to block the law before it takes effect next Thursday. Those in favor of the law say illegal immigration leads to more crime. But does it?

In Pima County, Arizona, sheriff's deputies patrol for people crossing the border illegally from Mexico.

"We are encountering folks who have warrants out for their arrests, deported felons," said Sgt. Robert Krygier.

It's a fact of life here that frightens and infuriates many Arizonans.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports supporters of the new law point to the recent murder of rancher Robert Krentz. Investigators say his killer snuck in from Mexico. Arizona governor Jan Brewer says Mexican drug cartel-style violence is crossing the border too.

"Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert, either buried or just lying out there, that have been beheaded," Gov. Brewer said.

In Pima County, Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said not only is there no evidence of beheadings, but "the border is more secure now that it's ever been."

Murder? Burglaries? Rape? The major crimes? Up or down on the border?

"They're down," Dupnik said. "Violence in the cities is down."

According to the FBI, that's true across the southern border this decade. In San Diego violent crime is down 17 percent. In El Paso, Texas violent crime down 36 percent - it sits right across from Juarez, Mexico, one of the deadliest cities on earth. In Phoenix major crime has dropped 10 percent from 2000 to 2009.

West along the border in Nogales, Arizona, Chris Ciruli said it's a "safe environment."

Ciruli, a third-generation produce distributor, said it's as safe as it was 20 years ago. One reason? "We're definitely seeing a lot more Border Patrol over the last few years."

Border Patrol Chief Victor Manjarrez is in charge of the 262-mile Tucson sector that covers Nogales. Thirty-three thousand agents patrol today, up from 1,500 a decade ago. When it comes to crime, Manjarrez said the rhetoric doesn't match reality.

No one is downplaying the magnitude of the problem. Officers say thousands of immigrants and smugglers still cross the border illegally into Arizona every day. They commit a disproportionate amount of crime.

Illegal immigrants are just seven percent of Arizona's population, but make up nearly 15 percent of the state's prison population. They represent 14 percent of all inmates jailed for manslaughter and murder, and 24 percent of inmates on drug charges - troubling to many Arizonans - even if the overall crime rate is down.

Protestors for and against the law are outside the court. Inside court, the judge said she is skeptical that the law is constitutional. She's expected to rule within days. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/ ... 3953.shtml

Stats mean nothing

Even one crime by an illegal alien that should not be here is 1 to many

And we know they commit far more than 1 crime

Originally Posted by Justthefacts

Stats mean nothing

Even one crime by an illegal alien that should not be here is 1 to many

And we know they commit far more than 1 crime

llegal immigrants are criminals I am weary of hearing the concocted label "undocumented aliens" to avoid calling them what they are — illegal immigrants, or an even more descriptive term, criminal entrants. Some say that we "owe them" citizenship and that anyone who argues otherwise is a bigot or racist. It is neither bigotry nor racism to state facts.

Anyone who has entered our country illegally has broken our laws. By definition, an illegal alien is a criminal. He or she may not be a bank robber or murderer, but is a criminal just the same.
To work in an underground economy and pay no taxes is a crime. If you have false documentation, that also is a crime. If you drive illegally and without liability insurance, that is another criminal act.
The fact of the matter is that many of the illegal aliens in our country are being supported by the tax dollars of legal citizens to provide education, food, housing and medical care.
Legal citizens who pay their taxes are paying for this largesse unwillingly and without a say in the matter.
Why should we have to argue over the rights of criminal entrants to stay in this country or their entitlement to goods and services provided by our tax dollars?
And why should illegal immigrants receive preference for citizenship over others who have applied via the quota system and been denied entry or are on waiting lists?
The simple answer to both questions is we shouldn't and they shouldn't.
Both our state and our country are struggling to find the funds to provide necessary services to their legitimate citizens. Let's stop providing services and support to illegal aliens.
We can solve the illegal immigration problem. We just need the will to do so.

The Mexican government may have a role in that.

Remember they sued AZ and they have their own covert system of communications such as LaRaza and churches.

See, if everyone is illegal waiting for their freebies, and there are alot of them, they are covertly telling their flock to lay low and report or commit no crimes.

Making politics in America, follow me?

Crime is down, no enforcement.