In a perfect world for many Democrats, America wouldn’t have borders, illegal aliens wouldn’t be illegal, and illegal immigrants would vote en masse to continually put more leftists into office. In an attempt to make this dream a reality, far-left politicians often sing the praises of those who willingly break the law to enter this country. Apparently, in some cases, their mission is more important than telling the truth.
Recently, during a campaign stop in Charleston, South Carolina, fledgling 2020 presidential candidate and former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke contended that illegal aliens commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. However, according to federal data released by the U.S. Department of Justice, O’Rourke’s assertion couldn’t be further from the truth.
During a back-and-forth with Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak, the former Representative remarked, “we know” immigrants from Central America and Mexico commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans according to the conservative media outlet’s John Binder.
“I believe in the truth, and in being honest about what the president was doing … We’re constantly warned of an ‘invasion’ of killers, and rapists, and animals, from Central America and Mexico, though we know that they commit crimes at a far lower rate than those who are born in this country,” O’Rourke claimed. “This is a very coordinated attack on minorities in this country, on the most vulnerable and the defenseless, for political gain for the president. And he knows full well that it not only offends our sensibilities as a country, it is leading to violence and the taking of lives, as we saw in El Paso.”
While O’Rourke’s claims paint illegal immigrants in a far more positive light than President Donald Trump does, the former Representative’s words simply aren’t true. Illegal immigrants’ rap sheets begin the moment they cross the border. This action is still a criminal misdemeanor. Binder noted that “continued illegal entry can be prosecuted as a felony.” What’s fascinating is that even when immigration-related crimes are thrown out, “non-U.S. citizens — including illegal aliens, legal immigrants, and temporary visa holders — are still overrepresented in federal arrests and federal prosecutions.”
According to DOJ officials, non-U.S. residents comprise roughly seven percent of the country’s population. But, in 2018, these individuals were involved in a whopping 15 percent of all non-immigration federal apprehensions. Disturbingly, about nine percent of these federal arrests of non-U.S. residents for non-immigration issues resulted from the accused allegedly committing violent crimes. Another 23.5 percent of the apprehensions were due to drug crimes.
Binder noted that “This federal data indicates non-U.S. citizens were about 2.3 times as likely to be arrested or prosecuted for non-immigration federal crimes in 2018. The DOJ report does not decipher between native-born U.S. citizens and foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizens, which means the totals for federal arrests of individuals born outside the country is likely even higher.”
Accounting for all federal apprehensions, a greater number of Mexican nationals were arrested last year than U.S. citizens. An astounding 64 percent of all federal arrests in 2018 involved non-U.S. residents. Only 36 percent of federal arrests in 2018 were of U.S. citizens.
The Breitbart reporter contended that “In states, there is less available data that deciphers crimes based on the suspect’s citizenship and immigration status but for those that are available, the data dictates that illegal aliens, specifically, make up an unusually large portion of state prison populations.”
Binder insisted, “American taxpayers are forced every year to subsidize the cost of foreign nationals in federal prisons, as well as those in local and state prisons. Taxpayers pay about $1.4 billion a year to incarcerate foreign nationals in federal prison.”
If the DOJ data can be believed, O’Rourke’s immigration rhetoric is nothing more than another instance of a politician unknowingly, or knowingly, spreading fanciful untruths in order to score political points. This type of reckless dialogue is dangerous. Maybe, if former Representative O’Rourke spent more time speaking the truth on the campaign trail rather than his version of it, his poll numbers wouldn’t be so low.
