WASHINGTON, DC – In preparation for the 2024 election cycle, The Hill published an article this past week discussing the pressing issue regarding crime, immigration, and public safety.
The Op-Ed author, Alex R. Piquero, recounts his time as the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics and urges individuals to focus on crime statistics rather than political rhetoric/narratives.
Focusing on immigration and crime trends since pandemic era reveals on a national level, crime rates are on a “multiyear decline by the end of 2024 and will likely be at a low, not seen in over 50 years,” Piquero wrote.
Comparatively, Piquero recounts his work as the senior advisor to crime trends working groups, AH Datalytics, and NORC and the Council on Crime Justice, stating, “The nation is much safer today than we were in the 1990s and certainly the 1980s.”
Piquero reiterated that over the years, research has consistently found immigrants do not commit more crimes than native-born Americans. Even with limited evidence surrounding illegal immigrants, the trend remains the same, Piquero maintained
In one study the author noted, “American citizens were 1.19 times more likely to be arrested in Texas than immigrants,” and these trends were “observed for both violent (1.18 times) and drug (1.67) offenses as well.”
Piquero urged, in his Hill Op-Ed, Americans to maintain informed decisions when it comes to policy, arguing, “let’s be sure that the people we look up to and vote for follow the data wherever that may lead — even if it contradicts what they hear or what somebody said.”
