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FIRST ON FOX: Republican Senator Jim Banks from Indiana is urging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to address significant reporting deficits in crime statistics. He asserts that these gaps obscure a serious and escalating issue regarding crimes committed by immigrants in the United States, as stated in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
Banks argues that the absence of immigration status information being reported by local and state authorities has led to a stark underreporting of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. In his communication with Bondi and Patel, the Senator emphasized the urgent need to reform the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to enable local and state law enforcement agencies to collect vital data on arrestees’ immigration status, national origin, and ethnicity.
Currently, the NIBRS enables law enforcement agencies to optionally include ethnicity but does not mandate the collection of an individual’s immigration status or national origin. This creates a significant obstacle in understanding the full scope of crime involving immigrants.
Banks highlighted that while the Department of Justice (DOJ) gathers some aggregate data on the citizenship of state prison populations, it fails to differentiate between noncitizens with legal status and those who are in the country illegally. Additionally, this data typically excludes offenders held in local jails, who constitute approximately one-third of the total inmate population.
To bolster reporting accuracy, Banks proposed enhanced collaboration between the FBI and the DOJ to support state and local law enforcement agencies in collecting immigration-related data. This change would align with President Donald Trump’s April executive order aimed at strengthening law enforcement efforts to pursue criminals while protecting innocent citizens.
He noted that even though federal agencies like the Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Sentencing Commission track the national origin of federal offenders, local and state authorities—responsible for addressing the majority of crime—largely overlook this critical information.
Banks pointed out, “The overwhelming majority of crime occurs at the state and local levels. Most violent crimes and property crimes generally fall under local jurisdiction. The responsibility for reporting the citizenship status of offenders primarily lies with states and local governments, yet they often do not collect this data.
Banks expressed concern that essential gaps in crime reporting limit the public’s understanding of crime trends associated with immigrants. He remarked, “Even though many individuals entering the country have a violent past, critical gaps in crime data reporting hinder Americans from grasping the frequency and nature of crimes committed by these individuals and other aliens once they arrive here.”
Referencing a 2018 study by the Center for Immigration Studies, he shared concerning findings that between 2011 and 2016, 21 percent of individuals convicted of non-immigration-related crimes were non-citizens—more than twice their percentage of the general population. According to the data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, 44.2 percent of those convicted of federal crimes during this period were not U.S. citizens, with 21.4 percent attributed to sole immigration-related offenses. At that time, non-citizens represented only 8.4 percent of the adult population, which included approximately 4 percent illegal immigrants and 4 percent legal immigrants.
Further analysis from the same study revealed that despite making up only 8.4 percent of the population, immigrants accounted for 42.4 percent of kidnapping convictions, 31.5 percent of drug convictions, and 22.9 percent of money laundering convictions.
Banks pointed to these statistics to underscore the pressing need for enhanced and transparent crime reporting. He stated, “The United States faces a serious and growing issue concerning immigrant crime. Every person who enters the United States illegally commits a crime, and increasingly, those who cross our borders potentially threaten the safety and lives of American citizens.”
He concluded by asserting that any crime perpetrated by an illegal immigrant is unacceptable and emphasized the importance of providing accurate data to the American public. He believes that citizens and their elected officials have the right to know the truth about crime rates and to shape immigration policy in accordance with the realities of crime data.
Through these proposed reforms, Banks aims to shine a light on a contentious issue, advocating for improved understanding and accountability surrounding crime committed by immigrants in the United States.
