Last week, the Supreme Court decided three major immigration cases, including a ruling on the scope of the Constitution’s birthright citizenship provisions. The broader immigration debate, however, remains far from settled. Disagreements persist over everything from whether and under what circumstances foreigners should be permitted to enter the United States to how vigorously existing immigration laws should be enforced, if at all. Advocates of more restrictive immigration policies and stronger enforcement tend to rely on one rationale above all others: public safety. Indeed, the extent to which immigration affects public safety is, in many ways, the central question around which the broader debate revolves.
How Many Crimes Do Illegal Immigrants Commit?
Despite years of heated debate, we still lack clear answers, as good data are hard to come by.
