The claim pushed by the left that “whites commit more crimes than immigrants” is a political talking point, not a sober reading of the data. Fact-checkers and researchers have repeatedly shown that sweeping, race-based assertions are often driven by agenda rather than evidence. When the left trades in sensational headlines they betray hardworking Americans who deserve facts, not spin.
The hard numbers tell a very different story: comprehensive analyses show immigrants—both legal and undocumented—are incarcerated at lower rates than native-born Americans. A 2023 analysis estimated native-born incarceration at 1,221 per 100,000, illegal immigrants at 613 per 100,000, and legal immigrants at 319 per 100,000, a clear indication that immigrants overall are less likely to be behind bars than U.S.-born citizens. Conservatives should use evidence, not resentment, when debating public safety.
Another independent measure reinforces the point: immigrant communities experience lower victimization rates, which correlates with lower offending in many studies. Between 2017 and 2023 immigrants were about 44 percent less likely to be victims of violent crime than the US-born population, a pattern that undermines the narrative that immigrants are driving crime waves. Those who care about real public safety must follow the data instead of partisan narratives.
Part of the reason the left can fling wild claims is that data on immigration and crime are messy—and the absence of a single national database makes it easy to cherry-pick anecdotes. Fact-checkers have pointed out there is no national count that tracks homicides by immigration status, and where careful state-level analyses exist—like in Texas—they show undocumented homicide conviction rates that are not higher than native-born rates. That inconvenient truth never seems to stop the cancel-culture crowd from declaring the case closed.
Make no mistake: exposing leftist lies about crime isn’t an argument for open borders or lax enforcement. Conservatives want secure borders and sound law enforcement that focus on real threats, not manufactured moral panic. The border and drug problems are complex, and honest discussion requires separating criminal bad actors from the millions of peaceful, law-abiding immigrants who enrich our communities.
If we are serious about protecting American neighborhoods, policymakers should stop trading in racialized statistics and start supporting policies that enforce the law, speed deportations for violent offenders, and invest in community policing and economic opportunity. The right’s message ought to be simple and truthful: enforce the law, defend honest reporting of the facts, and reject the left’s cynical attempts to weaponize statistics for political gain.
Americans of every background deserve safety and fairness, and conservatives will stand for both. We’ll call out dishonest narratives when we see them, fight for policies that keep families safe, and insist the national conversation be grounded in facts, common sense, and a love of country.
