Behind the Statistic: Over 14% of Federal Prisoners are Non US Citizens

Thursday, 11 June 2009 09:07

Over 14% of US Federal Prisoners are Non US Citizens

Have you seen a similar claim? While the statistic above is true, it is also misleading for at least three reasons.

First, this statistic only applies to federal prisoners. As of June 30, 2008, 14.4% of federal prisoners were not U.S. citizens, but when you look at prisoners in federal and state facilities, that percentage drops to 5.8%.
Secondly, it is important to realize that immigration violations are considered federal offenses. Therefore it is likely that many (if not almost all) illegal immigrants who are federal prisoners, are detained for immigration violations. Indeed, in 2002, 93% of suspected immigration offenders were not U.S. citizens. Clearly, illegal immigration is not on the same criminal level as other federal offenses, such as drug trafficking or bank robbery.
Lastly, just because someone is not a U.S. citizen does not mean that they are an illegal immigrant. Non U.S. citizens may be legal residents or here legally on a visa (such as a tourist, business or student visa).

So before we assume any connections between illegal immigration and crime levels, we must be sure to look behind the statistics.

Missionaries of the Sacred