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 / Modified feb 22, 2019 4:38 p.m.

What Research Says About Immigrant Crime Rates

One report from the Cato Institute found immigrants are less likely than U.S.-born citizens to be convicted of crimes.

One of President Trump's arguments for stepped-up border security is that immigrants who enter the country illegally go on to commit dangerous crimes. However, reports show that immigrants commit violent crimes at lower rates than citizens. One widely cited report from the Cato Institute looked at data from the Texas Department of Public Safety and found that U.S.-born citizens were convicted of crimes 50 percent more often than undocumented immigrants and 66 percent more often than immigrants in the state legally. Alex Nowrasteh, the Cato Institute's senior immigration political analyst, authored the report and discussed his findings with Lorraine Rivera.

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