Congressional Event Perpetuates Myth of Immigrant Criminality

Posted by Staff, Immigration Policy Center at 4:01 PM on September 12, 2008.

Washington, DC - Yesterday morning, Republican members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration regrettably perpetuated the persistent myth of immigrant criminality with their forum on "The Toll of Illegal Alien Criminals on American Families." Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Steve King (R-Iowa) spearheaded yesterday's conversation.

Numerous studies by independent researchers and government commissions over the past 100 years have consistently found that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the native-born. This holds true for both legal immigrants and the undocumented, regardless of their country of origin or level of education.

It's not likely a coincidence that Smith and King's forum happened during the same week that the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is lobbying Congress, demanding an impractical and hateful agenda of mass deportations, worksite raids, and other expensive and ultimately ineffective approaches as part of their "Hold Their Feet to the Fire" gathering. The Republican forum even featured some of the same witnesses who participated in FAIR's rally earlier in the week.

It is disappointing to see law makers Smith and King -- along with their fellow congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA), Brian Bilbray (R-CA), and Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who attended FAIR's rally this week -- tarnish the Republican brand by supporting the agenda of FAIR, an organization designated a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. It is especially troubling to see law-makers exploit the pain of the victims of these terrible crimes to promote their political motives. There is no doubt that dangerous criminals must be punished, and that immigrants who are dangerous criminals should not be allowed to enter the US or should be deported if they already are here. But exploiting the profound painful loss of crime victims to spread the myth that immigrants are criminals is irresponsible and disingenuous.

Tagged as: congress, fair, immigrant rights