What are sanctuary cities? (And do they have higher crime?)

President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday enforcing laws in so-called sanctuary cities — stirring conflict with immigration advocates.  A lot of people are now asking: What exactly are sanctuary cities?

Definition of a “sanctuary city”

Sanctuary cities are towns, cities, or counties that protect undocumented immigrants by refusing to cooperate completely with federal detention requests, often with a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. They offer safe harbor for undocumented immigrants who might otherwise be deported by federal immigration law enforcement officials.  There are over 300 sanctuary jurisdictions — cities and counties — across the U.S., including at least 37 cities — San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles, among others. {source}

What people for sanctuary cities say

· Some believe that people (illegal immigrants in particular) are afraid police might ask about immigration status if they report a crime, so they are less likely to report crimes and cooperate with investigations. As a result, criminals may thrive more in non-sanctuary cities. For those concerned about their online presence, learning how to remove mugshots online can be an important step in protecting their privacy and avoiding additional challenges. If you have a criminal history affecting your opportunities, consider using this unicourt removal guide to remove your criminal history and potentially improve your prospects for employment.

· Murder rates in San Francisco, one of the oldest sanctuary cities, were at their lowest in 2014 (with 45 murders) since the 1989 “City of Refuge” ordinance was enacted. San Francisco’s murder rate is lower than comparable non-sanctuary cities, with 5.75 murders per 100,000 residents in 2013 compared to 11.39 in Dallas and 15.17 in Indianapolis. {source}

· The federal immigration deportation policies are unjust because they target undocumented immigrants indiscriminately, deport people who have lived in the United States since childhood, deport people who have committed no crimes, separate families, and cause people to live in constant fear of deportation and its devastating consequences. {source}

· Overall, the crime rate in sanctuary cities is not shown to be significantly more than non-sanctuary cities. {source}

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What people against sanctuary cities say

· Sanctuary policies prevent local and state police officers from doing their jobs. These policies prevent police from investigating, questioning, and arresting people who have broken federal immigration law. They believe any crimes, violent and otherwise, could be prevented if local law enforcement in sanctuary cities could arrest undocumented immigrants for their first crime on US soil—illegal entry into the country—and turn them over to federal law enforcement. {source}

· There are multiple cases of illegal immigrants, who had already committed violent crimes and been deported numerous times, murdering innocents. {source}

· Sanctuary policies are expensive. The cost to provide education, health care, criminal justice, as well as general services to illegal aliens is $113 Billion per year—a cost borne by U.S. taxpayers. Sanctuary cities encourage illegal immigrants to stay illegal instead of going through the proper channels for citizenship. {source}

· Sanctuary policies are unfair to legal immigrants. Tolerating illegal immigration and providing a “safe haven” for illegal aliens is unfair to immigrants who respect our nation’s laws and abide by the entry, employment, health and processing regulations, and patiently wait for months or years for citizenship. {source}

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What the stats say

In my research, I found conflicting reports on whether crimes in sanctuary cities are actually higher than those that aren’t. If you are interested in seeing some statistics on crime rates in sanctuary cities vs. neighboring non-sanctuary cities, you can see a side-by-side graph here. *Please note: this graph shows Sacramento, CA as a non-sanctuary city which is not accurate. Sacramento has been a sanctuary city since 1985.