House GOP proposes memorial for immigration victims
House Republicans unveiled a plan to create a national memorial honoring Americans killed by illegal immigrants. The proposal comes amid heightened rhetoric from federal officials, with DHS blasting a Democratic-run county for releasing an illegal immigrant accused of murder and saying the county has "blood on their hands."
đ Key Facts
- Sponsor: Rep. Abe Hamadeh; bill name: The American Border Story Memorial Act
- Memorial would be a permanent national site in Washington, D.C.
- Event included Angel families and The American Border Story (TABS) leadership; Rep. Andy Biggs participated
đ Relevant Data
In Texas, undocumented immigrants had a criminal conviction rate 45% below that of native-born citizens between 2013 and 2022.
Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas â Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Fairfax County's population grew from 1.15 million in 2022 to 1.14 million in 2023, with international migration contributing to the rise despite domestic out-migration, and the foreign-born population constituting about 30% of residents.
International migration keeps Fairfax population rising, but trend could reverse soon â FFXnow
Sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement had no effect on crime rates or clearance rates in jurisdictions that adopted them between 2014 and 2017.
Sanctuary policies reduce deportations without increasing crime â Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
MS-13, originating in Los Angeles in the 1980s from Salvadoran immigrants fleeing civil war, has an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 members in the US as of 2023, with activities including drug trafficking, extortion, and violent crimes.
MS13 â InSight Crime
Between 2015 and 2023, high levels of gang violence, homicides, and economic stagnation in El Salvador drove increased migration to the US, with over 200,000 Salvadoran encounters at the US-Mexico border in fiscal year 2023.
Central American Immigrants in the United States â Migration Policy Institute
In Virginia, arrest rates for foreign-born individuals were lower than for US-born individuals in 2015, with foreign-born comprising 12% of the population but only 9% of arrests.
Immigrants and Crime â Institute for Immigration Research, George Mason University