Illegals Make Up 12% of S.D. Felony Arrests

A new study has found that illegal aliens represented 12% of the persons arrested for serious felony offenses in San Diego County during a recent one-year period, but that they were less likely to be accused of violent crimes or narcotics violations than U. S. citizens.

Undocumented residents are thought to represent about 5% or less of the county’s permanent population of about 2.4 million, according to U. S. immigration authorities. However, the county, which shares a long border with Mexico, is traversed annually by hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants headed for the U. S. interior.

The study’s sponsor, the San Diego Assn. of Governments, a regional research and planning group composed of representatives from each of the county’s municipalities, called the effort the most comprehensive analysis nationwide on the thorny topic.

Emotion-Filled Issue

The findings, indicating that aliens make up a proportionally higher number of criminal suspects than U. S. citizens, immediately renewed controversy over the emotion-filled issue that has been a source of debate in border communities for years.

“I question the methodology and the motivation of this study,” said Jess D. Haro, board chairman of the Chicano Federation of San Diego County.

Latino groups here have long questioned the wisdom of separating out crime numbers involving illegal aliens, maintaining that such comparisons perpetuate a negative stereotype of immigrants--mostly from Mexico--and serve little useful purpose. Moreover, critics have attacked the use of arrest numbers as misleading, contending that mostly white law enforcement officers have historically been more inclined to arrest minorities.

“This kind of study is never credible as long as 95% of the judges, prosecutors and cops are white and are filling the jails mostly with people who are black and Hispanic,” said Haro. “It perpetuates the perception that we are all criminals.”

Susan Pennell, a co-author of the report, said that the study, 2 1/2 years in the making, was needed because local authorities wanted to learn how immigration affected area criminal justice budgets. The study showed that total arrest, court and incarceration costs associated with undocumented felony suspects during the one-year period studied were about $15 million--a figure that doesn’t include misdemeanor violations, which represent most of the local law enforcement caseload.

San Diego-area officials plan to use the data to seek more federal funds to offset immigration-related criminal justice costs, Pennell said. “The point is, immigration is a federal issue, yet it’s felt at a local level,” she said.

A $127,540 grant from the National Institute of Justice funded the study. An outline of the report’s findings was presented Friday. The full text is expected to be released next week. The study also addresses the impact of illegal aliens on crime in El Paso County, Tex., another border county.

The study, which had a margin of error of 1%, Pennell said, examined the period between July 1, 1985, and June 30, 1986. A total of 4,431 felony arrests reports, chosen at random from throughout the area, were reviewed and used as the data base.

Not relevant to the study were the more than 500,000 arrests of undocumented aliens recorded by U.S. immigration authorities during the same period. Those aliens were accused of being in the United States illegally, a violation of federal law. Most were returned to Mexico.

Of the 4,431 local felony arrests examined in the study, 81% of those arrested were U.S. citizens, 12% were illegal aliens and 2% were foreign nationals legally in the United States. The immigration status of 4% could not be accurately determined, the report said.

The study showed that U. S. citizens were much more likely to be arrested for crimes of violence and narcotics violations, while aliens were more frequently accused of crimes of property.

“This repudiates the perception touted through the media that undocumented immigrants are responsible for more violent crimes,” said Pennell. “Their crimes tend to be income-generating, which is logical for a poor, disenfranchised community.”

Narcotics violations accounted for 15% of the serious felony arrests of illegal aliens by local authorities, compared to 21% for U.S. citizens.

Of illegal aliens arrested, the report stated, the highest proportion apprehended was in larceny, which accounted for almost a quarter (23%) of all arrested. Motor vehicle theft and burglary each accounted for about one in five of those arrested (20% and 19%, respectively), the report stated.

Among U.S. citizens arrested, the study showed, 14% were suspected of larceny, 12% of motor vehicle theft and 17% of burglary.

As for violent crimes, the study showed that 8% of illegal aliens were arrested for aggravated assaults, 7% for robbery, 6% for rape and 1% for homicide.

Among U.S. citizen arrests, by contrast, 18% were apprehended for aggravated assaults, 8% for robbery, 7% for rape an 2% for homicide.

For years, area law enforcement authorities have grappled with the issue of illegal aliens suspected of commiting crimes not related to their immigration status.

Earlier this month, San Diego police chief Bob Burgreen announced a planned change of policy that calls for turning over suspected illegal aliens accused of misdemeanor violations to U.S. immigration authorities. The proposal has generated considerable criticism from Latino groups concerned about possible harassment of immigrants.

Representatives of the San Diego Police Department and the county sheriff’s office characterized the study’s findings as a good start toward accurately assessing the impact of illegal aliens on local law enforcement. However, they noted that much remains to be researched, including the effect of arrests of aliens for misdemeanors, and that the new findings might already be out of date.

“I think the study gives credence to the idea that local government is deserving of assistance in order to mitigate what is a federal problem,” said Assistant Sheriff Jack Drown.