Non-Citizen Crimes
Do non-citizens commit imprisonable crimes at a higher rate, a lower rate, or about the same rate as the general U.S. population?
Correct Answer
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Justice show that non-citizens commit imprisonable crimes at multiplicatively higher rates than the general U.S. population. Although non-citizens are about as likely as the rest of the population to be currently incarcerated in correctional facilities, the U.S. deports them after they serve their sentences, thus removing repeat offenders that swarm the criminal justice system. In the decade from 2013 to 2022, the federal government removed 1,280,537 non-citizens who were convicted of committing crimes in the U.S., or 12 times the number of non-citizens in correctional facilities at the end of this period. This continual removal of non-citizen criminals means that the crime rates of non-citizens who come to the U.S. are much higher than those who remain. Moreover, nearly all illegal immigrants commit identity fraud, a federal felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
DocumentationIllegal Immigration & CrimeLatest Data