New Research: Are Sanctuary Cities More Dangerous?

Sanctuary cities are often the center of a heated debate on US immigration policy and enforcement. The most common argument is that these cities are the perfect environments for criminals to hide out. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the US Immigration Bonds offices are located, is a sanctuary city.  

Arguments For and Against Sanctuary Cities

Citizens against sanctuary city protections usually argue that sanctuary cities are more dangerous or they are filled with crime committed by illegal immigrants who can’t find work and are harder to catch.

Citizens for sanctuary cities argue that some illegals have lived in the United States since they were children, and indiscriminately deporting illegals is unjust and doesn’t take into account that these aliens have nowhere else to go.

New Research Regarding Sanctuary Cities and Crime Rates

No matter which side you are on, a new research suggests that there is no evidence that sanctuary cities are no more dangerous or filled with criminals than any other similar, non-sanctuary city in the United States.

The research by Martinez, Schuldt and Cantor can be found in their article Providing Sanctuary or Fostering Crime?.

Though the research doesn’t discount that there may be a link between high rates of crime and illegal immigration protection, it does assert that there still is no evidence to come to that conclusion and that any data saying otherwise may be misleading.

Regardless of position, the pros and cons for sanctuary cities do exist, however, any mention of increased crime rates is not completely truthful.

Why Do Sanctuary Cities Exist?

The Tenth Amendment provides for the separation of federal and state laws. States can choose which Federal laws they wish to uphold and which they deem unfair or unjust. Any state that has legalized marijuana is somewhat protected under the Tenth Amendment.

Sanctuary cities refuse to enforce the immigration laws that are thought of as unjust, and law enforcement is simply told to not pursue illegal immigrants.