Email, Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies, Center for Immigration Studies, April 21, 2017

From: Selby, Gardner (CMG-Austin)

Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2017 1:02 PM

To: Jessica Vaughan

Subject: Fresh inquiry, Texas

Jessica:

Hello again. I write wondering if the center has conducted research like this or evaluated this particular study.

If or if not the latter, who or what would you recommend we contact or consider?

We are trying to check this claim by Texas sheriffs: “FBI crime statistics have found that labeled ‘sanctuary’ cities experience lower rates of all crime types, including homicides.”

g.

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W. Gardner Selby

Reporter / News

Austin American-Statesman

PolitiFact Texas

1:55 p.m.

Yes, I have been covering this issue of a nexus between crime and immigration for quite a while and am familiar with most of the academic literature.  I did look at the CAP study a couple weeks ago.

I have not looked at the FBI crime stats in sanctuary cities.  The sheriffs’ statement could be true, I just don’t know.  However, I don’t see how the CAP study can possibly be used to prove or disprove the sheriffs’ statement, because the CAP study did not identify which jurisdictions it looked at, other than to reference an ICE document that they do not provide.  If it’s the ICE document that I think it is, then they are not using a generally accepted definition of sanctuary, because they are including jurisdictions that according to ICE do not actually have a sanctuary policy.  This is evident because they are saying there are 600-some sanctuaries, which is not a generally accepted number.  By my definition it’s closer to 300.  I do not count the jurisdictions from the ICE report that do not have an actual sanctuary policy and that only occasionally or rarely would not honor an ICE detainer.  I believe that CAP did count them, based on their number.  But no one can tell, because CAP does not provide a list so people can understand their methodology.

The most straightforward way to fact check the sheriffs’ statement would be to just look at the FBI statistics.  They are available on the Bureau of Justice Statistics website.  Let me know if you can’t find them.  Regards, Jessica

Jessica M. Vaughan

Director of Policy Studies

Center for Immigration Studies

(508)346-3380

jmv@cis.org

@JessicaV_CIS