Immigration and the U.S. – Part 1

Reality Team
May 17, 2022

Immigration policy can be a confusing subject. Bad actors make it worse by intentionally distorting facts about immigrants and repeating racist stereotypes. So here is the truth about many of the lies you’ve been hearing about immigration.

Q: Are immigrants (those here legally or otherwise) more likely to commit crimes?

A: No. They actually commit FEWER crimes.

Illegal immigrants are 50% less likely to commit a crime than native born Americans.

Immigrants who are here legally have an even lower crime rate; 67% less than native born Americans. – Cato Institute

“Neighborhoods with more […] immigrants have much lower rates of crime and violence than comparable non-immigrant neighborhoods.” – National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Sources:

Cato Institute: Criminal Immigrants in Texas – Illegal Immigrant Conviction and Arrest Rates for Homicide, Sex Crimes, Larceny, and Other Crimes
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Infographic: Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Immigrants

Q: Do immigrants get government assistance like welfare and Food Stamps?

A: No.

Undocumented immigrants can’t get Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps or any other form of Federal assistance. Neither can legal immigrants with temporary residence status.

Most immigrants (legal and illegal) DO pay taxes – and they still don’t get these services they contribute toward.

Source:

ADL: Eight Facts about Immigrants and Immigration

Q: Does immigration bring disease?

A: No.

There is no evidence that immigrants have been the source of any modern outbreaks or pandemics. In fact immigrants are required to undergo medical examinations prior to entering the U.S.

Source:

Columbia Public Health: May 2020 Letter to Department of Health and Human Services and CDC

Q: Are illegal immigrants voting?

A: No.

Immigrants can’t vote unless they become citizens – a very long process. Some states will give state IDs to undocumented immigrants, but they can’t be used to register to vote.

There are many safeguards in place to ensure that only citizens can vote. There has been no evidence of undocumented immigrants being involved with voter fraud.

Source: