[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 22, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H5336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                ARREST STATISTICS REPORTING ACT OF 2015

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Graves of Louisiana). The Chair 
recognizes the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, America's policymakers face an 
information gap that undermines our ability to make the immigration 
policy decisions needed to protect American lives from the threat posed 
by illegal aliens.
  What information gap? It is crime statistics that reflect criminal 
conduct by illegal aliens.
  The horrifying murder of 32-year-old Kate Steinle in San Francisco 
has, once again, put crime by illegal aliens in the national spotlight; 
but this issue should always be in the spotlight because it daily 
affects American citizens across the country, despite pro-amnesty 
forces' best efforts to suppress politically inconvenient truths about 
illegal alien crime in America.
  The fact is America's crime data for illegal aliens is inadequate. 
While we have access to Federal sentencing data for illegal aliens, 
illegal aliens crime data for cities, counties, and States is just not 
there. For example, while illegal aliens are roughly 3.5 percent of 
America's population, the United States Sentencing Commission data 
reflects that, out of 74,911 Federal sentencing cases, illegal aliens 
committed 17 percent of drug trafficking, 20 percent of kidnapping/
hostage taking, 12 percent of money laundering, 12 percent of murders, 
and a whopping 74 percent of drug possession felonies.
  If this Federal data is any indicator, illegal aliens are far more 
likely to commit violent and dangerous crimes than the average American 
or lawful immigrant. The absence of State and local law enforcement 
data is critical because most heinous crimes--such as murder, rape, 
violent assaults, and the like--are prosecuted at the State level.
  As of today, the Federal Government does not publicly report State 
and local illegal alien crime data, thus undermining our understanding 
of how bad the illegal alien crime problem is and what we must do to 
address it.
  A report released this past Monday, July 20, by the Center for 
Immigration Studies found that, according to Census Bureau data, 2.5 
million illegal aliens, at the rate of 400,000 per year, have been 
added to America's illegal alien problem since President Obama took 
office. America's policymakers need empirical data showing how many 
Americans are horribly victimized by the millions of illegal aliens 
this and other administrations have allowed into our country.
  While we have daily access to the endless stream of anecdotal, 
gruesome news reports of yet another illegal alien taking yet another 
American citizen's life, we need ``big picture'' data to rebut the 
liberal left's mantra that illegal aliens are as clean, innocent, and 
pure as freshly fallen snow.
  For example, in my district, which has Redstone Arsenal, one of 
America's premier military facilities, more Americans have been killed 
by illegal aliens than my district has lost in Afghanistan, in Iraq, to 
the Islamic State, to al Qaeda, and to the Taliban combined.
  Is Alabama's Fifth Congressional District's experience with illegal 
aliens an anomaly? Or is illegal alien crime as bad in the rest of 
America?
  Mr. Speaker, in order to make good policy decisions, America's 
policymakers need better data. I have introduced a bill to help. My 
bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, does two things.
  First, it requires that arrest reports already sent to the FBI by 
State and local governments include the best known immigration status 
of the arrestee. Second, it requires the Federal Government to publish 
illegal alien crime data in the FBI's annual crime statistics reports.
  This data will better inform the public and lawmakers about illegal 
alien crime and empower us to make the decisions needed to protect 
American lives.
  Mr. Speaker, honest immigration debate requires the best crime data. 
My bill, the Arrest Statistics Reporting Act, will help us obtain it.

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