Thread: Reformers can't ignore illegal 'criminal aliens'

Reformers can't ignore illegal 'criminal aliens'

By Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Proving once again that enforcement is the low-hanging fruit of immigration policy, the Obama administration has zeroed in on "criminal aliens." These are individuals who, after crossing the border illegally, are suspected of committing more serious offenses such as robbery, rape and murder.

In December, in what authorities called the largest operation of its kind, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Los Angeles arrested nearly 300 illegal immigrants accused of criminal offenses. More than 80% of them had prior convictions in the U.S. for serious or violent crimes.

Immigration foes, who are more concerned about changing demographics and evolving national identity, gladly latch on to the criminal-aliens issue.Whenever I cover a protest over illegal immigration, I see activists holding signs with pictures of victims killed in drunken driving accidents linked to illegal immigrants.

The undesirables

It is no wonder that this is one area that reform proponents would rather not talk about, but instead, they should address this head on. They see it as ammunition for immigration opponents to shoot down their cause by painting illegal immigrants as predators, thieves, killers and other undesirables.

But their concerns are overblown. Studies show that immigrants — and that includes those here illegally — do not commit a greater percentage of crimes than the U.S. population at large.

Those are the facts. But if the immigration debate teaches us anything, it's that fear drowns out facts. So if immigration reformists don't confront this issue now, they will only breed more public cynicism and poison the well for all illegal immigrants. That, in turn, will surely dim the prospect that Congress and the White House will get around to offering immigrants a pathway to earned legal status as part of a comprehensive reform plan.

In November, immigration authorities announced that they had identified with the help of their Secure Communities program, which seeks to locate and deport criminal aliens more than 111,000 immigrants with criminal records in local jails. But these people are not reflective of the entire immigrant community.

Take it from John Morton, the assistant secretary of Homeland Security who is in charge of the program. Morton told me, "Immigrants don't commit crimes any more or less often than the average population."

Evasive lesson

Americans have been slow to learn that lesson. Since the beginnings of the Republic, nativists and others who oppose both legal and illegal immigration have tried to marginalize foreigners by painting them as somehow dangerous or detrimental. That is what was said about the Germans, Chinese, Jews, Irish and the Italians.

Today, most immigrants to the U.S. come from Asia and Latin America, and yet the criminal perception continues regardless of country of origin. As a result, many pro-immigrant reformers want to avoid the subject of criminal aliens. Immigrants are already blamed for enough. Why open up this conversation? These law-breakers are considered an embarrassment to the community and a liability to the cause.

Many of these unsavory characters aren't the least bit sympathetic. Yet ignoring this unpleasant subset of the immigrant community won't make them go away. As long as they continue their unlawful activities, those who commit crimes continue to hurt the cause of millions of illegal immigrants who work hard, pay taxes and stay on the straight and narrow. In that way, criminal aliens create a whole new crop of victims.

Ruben Navarrette Jr. is an editorial board member of the San Diego Union-Tribune, a syndicated columnist and a CNN.com contributor.

Posted at 12:15 AM/ET, March 24, 2010 in Criminal justice - Forum, Forum commentary, Immigration - Forum
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I tried to post this:

This is a very old ploy, mix immigrants together with illegal aliens and the numbers are very skewed. Legal Immigrants are usually of a higher status and have no need to commit criminal acts. While Illegal Aliens are more likely to be uneducated and gang affiliated etc. Ruben must still think that Illegal Aliens are flying under the radar but guess what? Americans have awoken to this BS and LIES!

"Immigrants don't commit crimes any more or less often than the average population."

It doesn't matter if illegal aliens commit more crime or less crime than legal immigrants or citizens.

The point is that if the illegal aliens weren't here none of their crimes would be committed here.

And stop mixing apples and oranges.

ILLEGAL aliens are NOT immigrants.

Immigrants come here LEGALLY.

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