The Data
Texas uniquely records immigration status for every arrestee statewide. Between 2012 and 2018, undocumented immigrants were arrested at significantly lower rates than both legal immigrants and US-born citizens across violent, drug, and property crimes.
The numbers: Native-born citizens were arrested 2x more often for violent felonies, 2.5x more for drug crimes, and 4x more for property crimes compared to undocumented immigrants. Arrest rates remained stable or declined during this period.
More recent data (2013-2022) shows homicide conviction rates of 2.2 per 100,000 for undocumented immigrants versus 3.0 for native-born Texans. Legal immigrants had the lowest rate at 1.2 per 100,000.
Why This Matters
The federal government now spends more on immigration enforcement than all other principal criminal law enforcement agencies combined. The justification: criminal aliens are "disproportionately likely to commit crimes," according to arguments the US Solicitor General made to the Supreme Court in 2020.
The Texas data suggests otherwise. Undocumented immigrants consistently show lower criminality across offense types, yet enforcement spending continues to climb. Border Patrol reported 15,600 criminal arrests at borders in FY2023, up from 12,000 the prior year - but these reflect people with existing records attempting entry, not post-arrival crime rates.
The Context
Texas is one of few states that systematically tracks immigration status in arrest records. California stopped reporting citizenship data to federal authorities in 2013 and became a sanctuary state in 2017, limiting information sharing between local police and immigration officials.
This makes comprehensive national analysis difficult. The Uniform Crime Reports, National Crime Victimization Survey, and National Incident-Based Reporting System don't record immigration status.
Researchers note data limitations for misdemeanors, where immigration status checks are less consistent. But for felonies - the crimes driving enforcement policy - the pattern is clear and has held for over a decade.
The trade-off: Enforcement programs justified by crime reduction haven't delivered those results because the underlying premise doesn't match the data.