Brooks: Protect Americans from Illegal Alien Crime with Better Data

America's policymakers face an information gap that undermines our ability to make the immigration policy decisions needed to protect American lives from the threat posed by illegal aliens. While we have access to federal sentencing data for illegal aliens, illegal alien crime data for cities, counties, and states is just not there. Today, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) introduced a bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, that would do two things. First, it requires that arrest reports already sent to the FBI by state and local governments include the best known immigration status of the arrestee. Second, it requires the federal government to publish illegal alien crime data in the FBI's annual crime reports. This data will better inform the public and lawmakers about illegal alien crime and empower us to make the decisions needed to protect American lives.

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"Mr. Speaker, America's policymakers face an information gap that undermines our ability to make the immigration policy decisions needed to protect American lives from the threat posed by illegal aliens.

What information gap? Crime statistics that reflect criminal conduct by illegal aliens. The horrifying murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle in San Francisco has once again put crime by illegal aliens in the national spotlight.

But this issue should always be in the spotlight, because it daily affects American citizens across the country, despite pro-amnesty forces' best efforts to suppress Mr. Speaker, America's policymakers face an information gap that undermines our ability to make the immigration policy decisions needed to protect American lives from the threat posed by illegal aliens.

What information gap? Crime statistics that reflect criminal conduct by illegal aliens. The horrifying murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle in San Francisco has once again put crime by illegal aliens in the national spotlight.

But this issue should always be in the spotlight, because it daily affects American citizens across the country, despite pro-amnesty forces' best efforts to suppress politically inconvenient truth about illegal alien crime in America.

The fact is, America's crime data for illegal aliens is inadequate. While we have access to federal sentencing data for illegal aliens, illegal alien crime data for cities, counties and states is just not there. For example, while illegal aliens are roughly 3.5% of America's population, U.S. Sentencing Commission data reflects that, out of 74,911 federal sentencing cases, illegal aliens committed 17% of drug trafficking, 20% of kidnapping/hostage taking, 12% of money laundering, 12% of murders, and a whopping 74% of drug possession felonies! If this federal data is any indicator, illegal aliens are far more likely to commit violent and dangerous crimes than the average American or lawful immigrant!

The absence of state and local law enforcement data is critical because most heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, violent assaults, and the like, are prosecuted at the state level. As of today, the federal government does not publicly report state and local illegal alien crime data, thus undermining our understanding of how bad the illegal alien crime problem is and what we must do to address it.

A report released this past Monday, July 20, by the Center for Immigration Studies found that, according to Census Bureau data, 2.5 million illegal aliens, at the rate of 400,000 per year, have been added to America's illegal alien problem since President Obama took office. America's policy makers need empirical data showing how many Americans are horribly victimized by the millions of illegal aliens this and other Administrations have allowed into our country.

While we have daily access to the endless stream of anecdotal gruesome news reports of yet another illegal alien taking yet another American citizen's life, we need "big picture" data to rebut the liberal left's mantra that illegal aliens are as clean, innocent, and pure as freshly fallen snow. For example, in my district, which has Redstone Arsenal, one of America's premier military facilities, more Americans have been killed by illegal aliens than my district has lost in Afghanistan, in Iraq, to the Islamic State, to Al Qaeda, and to the Taliban . . . COMBINED! So, is Alabama's 5th Congressional District's experience with illegal aliens an anomaly . . . or is illegal alien crime as bad in the rest of America?

Mr. Speaker, in order to make good policy decisions, America's policy makers need better data. I've introduced a bill to help. My bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, does two things. First, it requires that arrest reports already sent to the FBI by state and local governments include the best known immigration status of the arrestee. Second, it requires the federal government to publish illegal alien crime data in the FBI's annual crime reports.

This data will better inform the public and lawmakers about illegal alien crime and empower us to make the decisions needed to protect American lives. Mr. Speaker, honest immigration debate requires the best crime data. My bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, will help us obtain it. Mr. Speaker I yield back the balance of my time.politically inconvenient truth about illegal alien crime in America.

The fact is, America's crime data for illegal aliens is inadequate. While we have access to federal sentencing data for illegal aliens, illegal alien crime data for cities, counties and states is just not there. For example, while illegal aliens are roughly 3.5% of America's population, U.S. Sentencing Commission data reflects that, out of 74,911 federal sentencing cases, illegal aliens committed 17% of drug trafficking, 20% of kidnapping/hostage taking, 12% of money laundering, 12% of murders, and a whopping 74% of drug possession felonies! If this federal data is any indicator, illegal aliens are far more likely to commit violent and dangerous crimes than the average American or lawful immigrant!

The absence of state and local law enforcement data is critical because most heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, violent assaults, and the like, are prosecuted at the state level. As of today, the federal government does not publicly report state and local illegal alien crime data, thus undermining our understanding of how bad the illegal alien crime problem is and what we must do to address it.

A report released this past Monday, July 20, by the Center for Immigration Studies found that, according to Census Bureau data, 2.5 million illegal aliens, at the rate of 400,000 per year, have been added to America's illegal alien problem since President Obama took office. America's policy makers need empirical data showing how many Americans are horribly victimized by the millions of illegal aliens this and other Administrations have allowed into our country.

While we have daily access to the endless stream of anecdotal gruesome news reports of yet another illegal alien taking yet another American citizen's life, we need "big picture" data to rebut the liberal left's mantra that illegal aliens are as clean, innocent, and pure as freshly fallen snow. For example, in my district, which has Redstone Arsenal, one of America's premier military facilities, more Americans have been killed by illegal aliens than my district has lost in Afghanistan, in Iraq, to the Islamic State, to Al Qaeda, and to the Taliban . . . COMBINED! So, is Alabama's 5th Congressional District's experience with illegal aliens an anomaly . . . or is illegal alien crime as bad in the rest of America?

Mr. Speaker, in order to make good policy decisions, America's policy makers need better data. I've introduced a bill to help. My bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, does two things. First, it requires that arrest reports already sent to the FBI by state and local governments include the best known immigration status of the arrestee. Second, it requires the federal government to publish illegal alien crime data in the FBI's annual crime reports.

This data will better inform the public and lawmakers about illegal alien crime and empower us to make the decisions needed to protect American lives. Mr. Speaker, honest immigration debate requires the best crime data. My bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, will help us obtain it. Mr. Speaker I yield back the balance of my time."

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