Thread: UT-Undocumented immigrants may arrive illegally, but don't c

Undocumented immigrants may arrive illegally, but don't commit higher rates of crime once here

Sutherland Institute says jail numbers do not reflect hyperbole of illegal immigration foes.

By Sheena Mcfarland
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 06/26/2009 10:00:47 AM MDT

An assessment of undocumented inmates in Utah's prison and county jails shows that undocumented immigrants do not commit crimes at a higher rate than the rest of Utah residents, according to a local think tank.

The number of undocumented immigrants has risen 57 percent between 2004 and 2008, but the number of undocumented state prisoners only increased 10 percent, according to a report by The Sutherland Institute. The conservative research organization opposes Utah's new immigration law, SB81.

Also, the 3.9 percent of county jail inmates who are here illegally mirrors the percentage of undocumented residents in the state's general population.

"County-level data confirms what state-level information suggests: Undocumented immigrants are not a major source of crime in Utah," the group's "Just the Facts" report states. "Further, county jail data suggests that anecdotes often cited by supporters of SB81 are unreliable and misleading."

Eli Cawley, president of the Utah Minutemen, questions the source of the information, calling the Sutherland Institute a "liberal-biased organization."

"Our law enforcement [agencies] don't go after crimes of document fraud, identity fraud and welfare fraud. These numbers are only the ones who have been caught," Cawley said.

"We all know there are vast, vast, vast numbers of illegal aliens being employed in Utah and we can expect more gangbangers and criminals of that stripe being forced into Utah from California as their economy collapses."

The Sutherland Institute's report, though, says such hyperbole is not backed up by fact.

"Are undocumented immigrants criminals?" the report asks. "Based on the available information, responsible citizens must answer with a resounding 'no.' "

smcfarland@sltrib.com

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12690832

"Are undocumented immigrants criminals?" the report asks. "Based on the available information, responsible citizens must answer with a resounding 'no.' "

UH, I beg to differ! They ARE criminals, they jumped a border. They are working, they are using other people's ID to obtain said jobs. Since when is this NOT a crime?

Just because they haven't been prosecuted, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't committing more crimes. A lot of illegals get deported by the feds prior to being prosecuted for certain crimes.

Let me count the ways . . .
1) illegal entry
2) i.d. fraud
3) use of forged documents
4) driving without license or insurance
5) providing false names and information to obtain benefits
6) tax evasion
etc
etc
etc

i seem to remember an interview a few weeks ago with Hudspeth TX county Sheriff Arven West who said that if US enforced immigration laws that he would have ONE AMERICAN IN his 250 bed jailhouse because the rest are freaking illegals

Just take a look at the DEA's most wanted list, every state listed has far more illegal's then legal residents.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/fugitives/fuglist.htm