Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) released a “most wanted” list of criminal immigrants on Wednesday, a day after President Biden announced a new federal asylum crackdown as part of an effort to portray Republicans like people who bark and don’t bite. on border policy.
The list is the latest effort by Abbott to link immigration to rising crime — a link that has been widely debunked — and to promote the Republican claim that rising immigration is Biden’s sole work.
“When President Joe Biden took office, he dismantled every effective border policy his predecessor implemented,” Abbott said in a statement.
“As a result, we have seen record levels of illegal immigration, including dangerous criminals and terrorists who are a threat to the public safety of our state and our nation. These illegal immigrants will now be highlighted in our Top 10 Most Wanted Criminal Illegal Immigrants list.”
Texas Democrats and immigration advocates called the list a political maneuver and a dangerous generalization.
“The first thing people should think they hear when they see another stunt like this from Abbott is what is he trying to cover up? What is he trying to get us to pay attention to? Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) said.
“Because obviously, people who have been convicted of horrible crimes should be held accountable, and it’s up to the authorities to stop them and punish them, right? Well, why is it that the governor of Texas decided to have a whole political stance around something that law enforcement is already, you know, in cases where law enforcement is already on the case?
Abbott’s list, developed in conjunction with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), includes 10 Hispanic men, most of whom are wanted for crimes involving sexual misconduct.
“We expected that when people committed acts of this nature, they would face punishment. But does that mean we should talk about these acts and publicize them in a way that demonizes and criminalizes thousands of other immigrants, many of whom serve our country in our communities and raise their families?” asked Nayna Gupta, associate director of policy at the National Immigrant Justice Center.
“No, of course not. This is a political game and Americans are smart enough to know the difference.”
But DPS Security Director Steve McGraw made a distinction between local criminals and foreign-born criminals.
“Criminals from around the world who illegally enter the United States and commit crimes in Texas are a threat to public safety,” McCraw said in a statement.
“Individuals on Texas’ Top 10 Most Wanted Illegal Immigrant Criminals list are likely to commit additional crimes, and DPS is enlisting the public’s help to stop these offenders before they commit additional crimes. I thank Governor Abbott and Texas Crime Stoppers for their partnership in launching this important program.”
Most scientific research into the link between immigration and crime has found a negative correlation – that is, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, so their presence in communities tends to reduce overall crime rates.
Oseminal study on this correlationwas conducted by Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute using DPS data, in part because Texas records immigration status in prisons.
Although this study focused on homicide conviction rates, a2021 DPS Data Studyby Nowrasteh found that immigrants – documented and undocumented – also had lower sex crime conviction rates in 2019.
Immigration has become a major political issue in 2024, and Abbott has sought to expand Texas’ role in immigration enforcement, butting heads with the Biden administration over jurisdictional issues.
Advocates have warned that actions like Abbott’s could fuel violent acts by individuals who believe in the link between crime and immigration, like the shooter who in 2019 killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart, citing xenophobic sentiment as his main motivator.
And Texas Democrats say focusing on this unmasked connection distracts from other law enforcement priorities.
“Governor Abbott has a long history of spreading fear about immigrants to divert attention from his failures as governor. His administration left thousands of rape kits untested and gun deaths increased on his watch. We’ve seen him fail Texans time and time again when we needed leadership most – from the blackouts during Winter Storm Uri to the abuses in our foster care system and the cover-up after Uvalde,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said.
“This list is nothing more than the governor’s latest political ploy to divert attention from what he is not doing for the people of Texas.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
