Trump’s claim that sanctuary cities ‘breed crime’ We award Three Pinocchios."

We award Three Pinocchios."

"...In general, extensive research shows noncitizens are not more prone to criminality than U.S.-born citizens. The vast majority of unauthorized immigrants are not criminal aliens or aggravated felons. We covered this in depth here and here.



The Pinocchio Test

Trump claims sanctuary cities “breed crime.” But there is limited research on the impact of sanctuary policies and crime.



The research that does exist, including one study published by advocates of immigration, challenges Trump’s claim. These studies either found no statistically significant impact of sanctuary policies on crime, or a reduction in crime due to immigrant-friendly policing strategies. Sanctuary jurisdictions release inmates after their criminal case is complete, and extensive research shows noncitizens are not more prone to criminality than U.S.-born citizens. Moreover, some sanctuary jurisdictions do cooperate with the federal government if they believe the inmate is a public safety threat.



It’s one thing to raise concerns about the impact of sanctuary policies, but Trump goes too far declaring that the cities “breed crime.” He not only makes a correlation, but also ascribes a causation, without facts to support either.



Trump’s claim that sanctuary cities ‘breed crime’