Democrats in denial on crimes of illegal immigrants. Here's the reality the rest of America can't ignore
Every time an illegal immigrant commits a crime, the spotlight falls on Democrats' complicity
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As the crisis at our border escalates, Democrats are working tirelessly to deflect attention from the alarming reality that illegal immigrants are committing crimes in American cities coast to coast. Democrats are acutely aware that every time an illegal immigrant commits a crime, the spotlight inevitably falls on their complicity.
In the aftermath of the tragic murder of Laken Riley, a young nursing student, allegedly by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Democrat mouthpieces rushed to peddle the same tired narrative: that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than American citizens.
NPR and Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post recently parroted studies claiming lower incarceration rates among male immigrants compared to native-born individuals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In the aftermath of the tragic murder of Laken Riley, Democrat mouthpieces rushed to peddle the same tired narrative: that illegal immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S. citizens. (Getty Images)
No one is arguing that illegal immigrants commit more crimes than Americans (unless you count their unlawful entry, of course). The issue is that they commit crimes at all while being in the country illegally. These crimes wouldn't occur if our border security was effective.
In my latest book, "What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities," I expose the fallacy of data-driven claims about illegal immigrant crimes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Take, for instance, the astonishing number of illegal immigrants charged with crimes in the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon and California. Are you ready for it? It's zero, thanks to sanctuary state policies that prohibit law enforcement from inquiring about citizenship status.
When you're charged with shoplifting in San Francisco, hit and run in Portland, or assault in Seattle, citizenship status is not ascertained due to sanctuary policies.
This lack of documentation creates a distorted picture of crime rates, especially in sanctuary cities where cases potentially leading to deportation are avoided. When an illegal immigrant commits a crime and avoids jail time through diversion programs, their citizenship status remains undocumented. Radical Los Angeles County DA George Gascon even ordered prosecutors to avoid cases with immigration consequences.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"All charging determinations shall be undertaken with the goal of avoiding or mitigating the adverse immigration consequences of a decision when known, possible or permitting," the policy orders. "Under these circumstances and when, consistent with public safety alternatives to filing charges exist, those alternatives shall be pursued."
If crimes are intentionally left unpunished to conceal citizenship status, how can we trust crime rate data? Furthermore, the influx of unknown illegal immigrants crossing the border complicates accurate assessments of their crime rates compared to American citizens.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While Democrats downplay these crimes, innocent Americans suffer the consequences.
Just this month, a tragic incident received little national attention. An illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history is accused of killing a 27-year-old Washington state trooper, Christopher Gadd, who left behind a wife and 2-year-old daughter. According to court documents, Raul Benitez Santana admitted to drinking and smoking weed before allegedly crashing into the trooper’s vehicle north of Seattle on Interstate 5 early one weekend morning.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ICE confirmed Santana is in the country illegally from Mexico. It’s unclear when he entered this country illegally, but he’s served jail time twice since 2013 and was initially charged with a crime that would have made him eligible for deportation, if only anyone was legally allowed to ask about his citizenship status.
Jason Rantz's new book is "What's Killing America: Inside the Radical Left's Tragic Destruction of Our Cities" (Center Street)
Santana was charged after assaulting his on-again, off-again girlfriend in August 2017, leaving her with a broken nose and bloodied face. During the investigation, Santana was found with "multiple identification documents for him bearing a variety of names and other changed identifying information such as social security numbers," according to court records. This would normally raise suspicions that he was in the country illegally. But if law enforcement suspected he was here illegally, they would have had to ignore it.
By August 2017, King County officials (along with the City of Seattle) proudly declared itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. By 2019, Santana was offered a non-felony plea deal with time served, two days after the governor signed the Democrats’ sanctuary state legislation into law.
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This is just one example of how illegal immigration leads to preventable tragedies. Democrats' open-border agenda has real consequences, as more innocent Americans fall victim to crimes that could have been avoided with stricter immigration policies.
It's time for Democrats to acknowledge the dangers posed by illegal immigration and prioritize the safety of American citizens over political agendas. The denial of this reality only perpetuates the cycle of crime and victimization in our communities.
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