Washington Post Fact Checks President Trump on Crime by Illegal Aliens

The Washington Put up Reality Checker takes challenge with President Trump’s social media put up on sanctuary cities and crime by unlawful aliens. The White Home despatched the Washington Put up a couple of article to defend its place (together with a few of our analysis from Actual Clear Investigations), however the one analysis that the Washington Put up discusses is our work. Right here is Trump’s put up:

“No extra Sanctuary Cities! They shield the Criminals, not the Victims. They’re disgracing our Nation, and are being mocked everywhere in the World. Engaged on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any Metropolis or State that enables these Demise Traps to exist!!!”

— President Donald Trump, in a social media put up, April 10

The Reality Checker offers Trump Three Pinocchios for making a false declare and writes: “the accessible analysis exhibits no statistically important affect of sanctuary insurance policies on crime — and even a attainable lower in property crime.” Beneath we truly level out one of many research that the Put up cites that regardless of its flaws offered some proof that property crime elevated.

Here’s what the Washington Put up wrote up utilizing the knowledge that we offered. All the info that we offered is proven beneath that.

However John R. Lott Jr., writer of one of many articles despatched to us, argues that accessible knowledge undercounts crimes dedicated by undocumented immigrants. Utilizing figures launched final summer season by ICE in regards to the recognized felony information of non-detained noncitizens, he estimated that 9 p.c of the 7.4 million launched noncitizens dedicated crimes both in the USA or of their dwelling nations, which he says is a conservative estimate however excessive relative to the remainder of the U.S. inhabitants.

He reviewed the papers we cited above and mentioned they didn’t account for inadequacies within the knowledge. FBI stories, as an example, miss many incidents of violent crime and property crime as a result of not all of these crimes are reported.

“None of those papers straight handle the empirical downside that criminals are likely to commit crimes towards people who find themselves just like themselves,” Lott mentioned. “That signifies that illegals will commit crimes towards different illegals who’re dwelling close to them. The issue is that crime by illegals is prone to be unreported, and as you might have extra illegals within the space, the dimensions of that underreporting is prone to improve.”

Reality Checker, “With out proof, Trump claims sanctuary cities are ‘dying traps’,” Washington Put up, April 11, 2025.

Right here is the total response we despatched again to the Washington Put up.

Thanks for reaching out. I hope that you’re doing effectively.

My piece confirmed that 9% of the non-detained illegals (662,566 of seven.4 million) had felony information, which is excessive relative to the remainder of the US inhabitants. However that’s an underestimate of the speed at which illegals commit crimes as a result of it doesn’t embody gotaways or those who we by no means noticed coming throughout the border, two teams that presumably had the largest causes to keep away from coming in touch with border brokers. There have been 2+ million gotaways in the course of the Biden administration. I believe the 662,566 quantity is low and that the Biden administration didn’t precisely determine everybody with a felony file, even for these non-detained illegals. Nonetheless, 9% is already a low estimate of the issue. Even when it’s a low estimate, it’s a laborious knowledge estimate of felony exercise by illegals. The query for sanctuary cities is whether or not they wish to have folks of their communities who commit crimes at this charge. In my RCI piece, I gave an especially conservative estimate of the victimization prices from these crimes. When these cities are refusing to coordinate with ICE, it’s for these illegals who’re partaking in felony exercise.

I’ve appeared on the papers that you simply despatched. I don’t perceive how these research run these regressions with out accounting for easy issues like policing or jail. Not to mention accounting for some other kind of legal guidelines that might have an effect on crime charges, comparable to California’s 1994 three strikes regulation? In lots of of those research, a big portion of the pattern is from California (e.g., the Gonzalez paper has over 1 / 4 of their pattern from that state). As is quite common for analysis on this space, none of those 4 research account for this (although the Martínez et al. research doesn’t present any new empirical work themselves and the Gonzalez paper has solely the only earlier than and after comparisons for simply the sanctuary cities with no try and account for different regional crime traits). 

None of those papers straight handle the empirical downside that criminals are likely to commit crimes towards people who find themselves just like themselves. That signifies that illegals will commit crimes towards different illegals who’re dwelling close to them. The issue is that crime by illegals is prone to be unreported, and as you might have extra illegals within the space, the dimensions of that underreporting is prone to improve. Papers on this space speak in regards to the illegals who’re victims of crime not coming ahead, however they don’t then handle that of their empirical work and what meaning if they’re utilizing the FBI UCR knowledge. Please be aware that the FBI UCR knowledge is already solely getting about 40% of violent crime and 30% of property crime that the Nationwide Crime Victimization Survey signifies.

In any case, the Martinez research does point out the purpose of unlawful victimss not coming ahead to report crime, however that doesn’t apply to what they’re discussing as a result of we’re coping with ICE getting assist to catch and deport individuals who have been arrested who’re criminals.

In the event you take a look at the Hausman research, I’m at all times doubtful when folks throw out loads of knowledge (and since he’s utilizing month-fixed results, what distinction does it make if a jurisdiction has knowledge for less than 10 of the 12 months of a selected 12 months), however placing this apart, his desk 4 truly exhibits some weak proof that property crime elevated. In the event you divide the 85.145 by 55.6 you get a t-statistic of 1.531, which is statistically important on the 6 p.c stage for a one-tailed t-test. 

The Politics of Refuge: Sanctuary Cities, Crime, and Undocumented Immigration, Gonzalez et al

Offering Sanctuary or Fostering Crime? A Evaluate of the Analysis on “Sanctuary Cities” and Crime Daniel E. Martínez et al

Sanctuary cities and crime, Yuki Otsu 2021 Journal of Financial Conduct and Group

Sanctuary insurance policies scale back deportations with out rising crime David Ok. Hausman

I might provide you with extra of a dialogue, however I didn’t wish to take extra time. I hope that you simply discover this of some help!