Finally, the data are in on sanctuary cities and crime.

Sanctuary cities experience more violent and property crime than non-sanctuary cities of similar demographics and population levels, a recent study, largely overlooked by the so-called "mainstream media," clearly and unambiguously reveals.

In addition, the compilation and comparison of the comprehensive crime statistics provided by the FBI show the disparities between the cities that welcome illegal aliens and refuse to report them to federal immigration enforcement authorities and those that don't regarding the growth of crime over time.

We have a study done by researchers admittedly sympathetic to the movement to thank for it.

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WND looked beyond the actual conclusions of the report by researchers Loren Collingwood, Benjamin Gonzalez-O'Brien and Stephen El-Khatib of the University of California-Riverside and Highline College in Des Moines, Wash., respectively, to the actual data collected and the analysis. It wasn't hard to find the discrepancies.

In fact, you can see it in the actual charts and graphs they prepared to illustrate their summary conclusion: "Our findings provide evidence that sanctuary policies have no effect on crime rates, despite narratives to the contrary," they wrote. "The potential benefits of sanctuary cities, such as better incorporation of the undocumented community and cooperation with police, thus have little cost for the cities in question in terms of crime."

Not surprisingly, the authors introduced their study by stating that's exactly what they expected to find.

"Since undocumented immigrants face deportation in addition to criminal charges, it is logical that they would avoid breaking the law to a greater extent than the native born population," they wrote. "We expect to see no statistically significant difference between sanctuary and non-sanctuary cities."

In addition, their introductory comments on what they expected to find in the data included this statement: "We find it unlikely that sanctuary cities will have more crime – be it violent, property, or rape as claimed by some political candidates and opponents of sanctuary cities."

Nevertheless, what the data show is that sanctuary cities consistently have substantially higher crime rates than non-sanctuary cities, as WND's report Monday reveals.

Like a mantra, officials of sanctuary cities have insisted that their policies are intended to foster more cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and illegal aliens. Yet, there is no evidence of such cooperation or the expected results.

No data have ever been collected to suggest illegal immigrants are offering such cooperation in preventing crime in these jurisdictions. Concurrently, there is no study, scientific or anecdotal, to suggest illegal immigrants cooperate in fighting crime in these jurisdictions. At the same time, data show criminal aliens being released by sanctuary jurisdictions commit more crimes when they get out than do non-aliens.

Interestingly, the authors of the new study do not argue that sanctuary policies cause any decrease in crime, rather that it has little impact on crime.

Are you surprised? I'm not.

Apparently, the best the researchers could do was to minimize the consistent and significant differences between crime rates in sanctuary cities and non-sanctuary cities in their conclusions.

There's a reason, though, that this study has not been widely used by proponents of sanctuary cities as the evidence they've been hoping to see. While the data collection methodology is sound, the conclusions ignore what the data actually show.

Will sanctuary city activists come to their senses by looking at the facts? Not likely. Sanctuary city policies have nothing to do with the quality of life in their jurisdictions. They have to do with an ideology unaffected by rational thought and facts on the ground. They have to do with the politics of government power over a permanent and growing underclass in America's cities.

Media wishing to interview Joseph Farah, please contact [email protected].

