The claim rests primarily on a 2020 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that examined incarceration data in Texas. S1 That study did find lower felony conviction rates among undocumented immigrants compared to native-born citizens in Texas specifically.

However, the anchor presented this single study’s findings as a universal, settled fact. The reality is more complicated. A 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office found that federal data on crimes committed by non-citizens is fragmented across agencies, with no single reliable national dataset. S2 The GAO noted that ICE, CBP, and DOJ each track different metrics using different definitions, making national-level comparisons unreliable.

Furthermore, the claim conflates “undocumented immigrants” with broader categories. Several studies that show lower crime rates among immigrants do not distinguish between documented and undocumented populations — a critical distinction the anchor failed to make. The Cato Institute, which has published research supporting lower immigrant crime rates, has itself acknowledged this methodological limitation. S3

The underlying data may support a more cautious version of this claim, but the way it was stated — as a definitive, unqualified fact — omits the significant academic debate, methodological caveats, and data gaps that surround this question. Viewers were left with a false sense of certainty on a topic where honest researchers acknowledge substantial uncertainty.