U.S. border cities' homicide rates stay lower than nation's
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Police detain a man near the U.S.-Mexico border on Sept. 17 in El Paso, Texas. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
The homicide rates of several U.S. communities on the border with Mexico remained well below the national average in 2023, according to an Axios analysis of the latest FBI crime data.
Why it matters: Former President Trump and many Republicans have repeatedly claimed that U.S. border communities have turned into chaotic, lawless areas with high crime because of a rise in migrants seeking asylum — but Axios found that the data doesn't match those claims.
- The average homicide rate of 11 border cities was lower than the national average, per the FBI's most recent data, released in September.
By the numbers: The 11 cities — Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio and El Paso in Texas; Sunland Park in New Mexico; Nogales and Yuma in Arizona; and Calexico and San Diego in California — had an average homicide rate of 4.4 per 100,000 residents, compared to 5.7 nationwide.
- For the border cities, that was a slight decrease from 2022, when they had a homicide rate of 4.5, Axios found.
- Four of the cities recorded no homicides in 2023.
- Yuma, a community of nearly 100,000 people, had the highest homicide rate (11) and the highest rate of violent crime (474.9) of all border cities.
Yes, but: The violent crime rate in border communities was slightly above the national average (363.8) for the second year in a row — after years of declines.
- The 11 communities had a violent crime rate of 393.8 per 100,000 residents in 2023 — a 2% decrease from the year before.
- Calexico, California, a city of 38,000, had the lowest violent crime rate, 138.6.
- Violent crime, as recorded by the FBI, includes homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
Caveat: The 11 cities have a total population of 2.9 million, yet their combined violent crime rate is much lower than that of Chicago or Houston, which have populations of 2.6 million and 2.3 million, respectively.
- Houston's violent crime rate is 1,110.3 and Chicago's 632.7.
Zoom in: El Paso had a violent crime rate of 350.8 and a homicide rate of 3.8.
- The city of 678,000, home to the highest percentages of Mexican American residents, remains one of the safest communities of its size, according to an analysis by Axios.
- The 11 communities examined by Axios have high percentages of Latino residents and poverty rates above the national average.
The intrigue: McAllen, located across from Reynosa, Mexico, one of the most dangerous places in the Americas, had one of the lowest violent crime rates on the border, 218.5.
Background: Trump has repeated false claims that migrants from Latin America, Africa and the Middle East are responsible for jumps in violent crime despite recent studies showing violent crime is dropping.
- Immigrants commit fewer crimes than their American-born counterparts, the studies have shown. But Trump and others have elevated individual cases that support their claims, like the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Rile.
What they're saying: Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, tells Axios in a statement that the Biden-Harris administration reversed many of the former president's immigration policies, creating a national security crisis on our southern border.
- Leavitt said Trump will restore his policies and launch "crackdowns that will send shockwaves to all the world's criminal smugglers, and marshal every federal and state power necessary" for his deportation plan.
The other side: The Harris campaign has praised the Biden administration for the declining drops in overall violent crime since 2021.
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