Georgia has begun sharing data on illegal immigrant crime in the state, and it shows non-citizens are committing crimes at a lower rate than their American-born counterparts.
Just over 1,700 illegal immigrants were in jails in the state as of December 2024, making up just 3.3 percent of the overall incarcerated population. Analysis by the Cato Institute estimated that 399 per 100,000 illegal immigrants were being held, compared to 478 per 100,000 American citizens or legal migrants.
Why It Matters
Over the past year, in particular, the notion that there is a wave of crime being committed by illegal immigrants has been pushed by the Republican Party, including President-elect Donald Trump, as part of broader efforts to crack down on immigration.
The data could be seen as going against this viewpoint, despite some high-profile crimes committed by migrants in the past 12 months, including the murders of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas and 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, burned alive on the New York City Subway.
What To Know
Data out of Texas—previously the only state to make this information public—showed that immigrants were committing crimes, including murder, at a far lesser rate than their American counterparts.
Now, Georgia's first quarterly report showed a similar picture, with 61 per 100,000 illegal immigrants being held for homicide, compared to 90 per 100,000 American-born and legal immigrants in the system, meaning for undocumented immigrants, the rate was 32 percent lower.
The state started reporting the data following the passage of the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act, designed to make the migrant crime situation clearer.
The data is slightly limited, only showing those with active detainers issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meaning the rates could be higher but not necessarily by much.
The Georgia Department of Corrections report, published December 30, showed 114 migrants detained for aggravated child molestation, 127 for aggravated assault, 193 for murder, and 190 for rape.
Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, said that the act came into effect after the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in early 2024 by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Jose Ibarra. Legislation named after Riley is now making its way through the United States Congress, aimed at deporting those arrested or charged for minor crimes.
What People Are Saying
Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, told Newsweek: "For those who want mass deportations, they need to understand that this is not going to be an effective anti-crime policy because they will be deporting the population that is less crime-prone than the rest of the population here."
Nowrasteh said: "It's very important to understand the facts of what's going on. It's frankly kind of embarrassing that we didn't have these data until relatively recently, and now we only have them in two Republican states. It's important because it informs the debate and the scale and scope of the issue."
Richard Hanania, president of The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, on X: "Republicans in Georgia passed a law to crack down on illegal immigrant crime. It ended up showing that illegal immigrants are less criminal than natives. Anti-immigration narratives are impervious to facts. Conservatives have the facts on their side on urban crime, none here."
What's Next
Nowrasteh said he will watch for trends in Texas and Georgia while pushing other states to begin publishing the data to help increase transparency.
President-elect Trump has promised mass deportations of illegal immigrants, particularly those who have committed crimes, and information like this may be used to kick-start his program.
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