Illegal aliens are incarcerated as much as five times the rate of legal residents – and on average three times the rate of legal residents – in states where they are most heavily concentrated, according to a new study published by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

The study analyzes the most recent illegal alien incarceration data available from the federal government’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), which reimburses states for a small portion of the costs of incarcerating criminal illegal aliens. The report looks at SCAAP payments to states with large illegal alien populations and compares it to the public records of state and local prisons. The states analyzed include: Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington which, together, comprise the majority – 65 percent – of the nation’s illegal alien population. Importantly, the report does not include illegal aliens who have been convicted of federal criminal charges and are serving time in a Federal Bureau of Prison facility.

“This study should put to rest, once and for all, the notion that illegal aliens commit crimes at a lower rate than legal residents,” said FAIR President Dan Stein. “By focusing on states with significant illegal alien populations and that consistently report to the SCAAP program, FAIR’s study refutes this erroneous claim,” he said. “Contrary to the popular myth, this analysis shows that when applied nationally, SCAAP data from key states suggest that illegal aliens are incarcerated at three times the rate of legal residents, on average.”

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