Illegal Immigration

 

Maricopa County Attorney?s Office

September 2008

 

 

CONTENTS
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 3
Background -- Illegal Immigration Facts............................................................................ 3
Illegal Immigration and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ...................................... 4
Illegal Immigration Statistics.............................................................................................. 5
Arizona............................................................................................................................ 5
Maricopa County ............................................................................................................ 5
Data ............................................................................................................................. 6
Illegal Immigration’s Impact on Maricopa County Crime ................................................. 7
Illegal Immigration, Crimes and Specialized Prosecution.................................................. 8
Noteworthy Prosecutions .................................................................................................... 8
Legislative and MCAO Policy Changes ........................................................................... 10
Illegal Immigration Legislation .................................................................................... 10
2005........................................................................................................................... 10
2006........................................................................................................................... 10
2007........................................................................................................................... 10
2008........................................................................................................................... 10
MCAO Policy Changes ................................................................................................ 10
Outreach............................................................................................................................ 11
Law Enforcement.......................................................................................................... 11
Public Service Campaigns ............................................................................................ 11
Illegal Immigration Journal .......................................................................................... 11
Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) .......................................................................... 11
Speaker’s Bureau .......................................................................................................... 11
Community Events ....................................................................................................... 12
Conclusions and Further Research.................................................................................... 12

2

 Executive Summary
There has been recent discussion as to whether crime rates for illegal immigrants are
similar to rates for persons lawfully in this country. The following report analyzes
defendants sentenced for felonies in Maricopa Superior Court in an effort to shed light on
that issue. The report finds illegal immigrants are over-represented for both violent and
property crimes when compared to their estimated presence in the general population.
The key conclusion of this paper is that Arizona’s population is comprised of
approximately 9% illegal immigrants, yet 21.8% of felonies sentenced in Maricopa
County Superior Court are committed by illegal immigrants.

Background -- Illegal Immigration Facts
¾ In June 2008, the Arizona prison system reported a population of 5,173 Mexican
Nationals. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Reports and Statistics, 2008) 1
¾ In 2004, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimated the
annual cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants in Arizona prisons and jails equal to
$80 million 2 . Today a conservative estimate is that it costs $61.74 3 a day to house an
inmate in an Arizona prison. Using this daily per prisoner estimate, in June 2008 the
daily housing costs for Mexican Nationals for the month totaled $319,381. Assuming
that 5,173 prisoners is a relatively constant year-around number, the cost of
incarcerating Mexican Nationals in Arizona has increased to approximately $114
million annually.
¾ Law enforcement and criminal prosecutions linked to illegal immigration costs the
Arizona border counties of Cochise County, Pima County, Santa Cruz, and Yuma
County millions of dollars annually. A recent study from the University of Arizona 4
estimates that in these four border counties in Arizona costs were $26.6 million in
2006. These costs represent monies spent from the counties general funds to provide
law enforcement and criminal justice services (sheriff, detention, prosecutor, indigent
defense, justice court, superior court, probation, etc.).

1

A recent AZ Dept. of Corrections presentation reported the vast majority of Mexican Nationals (98%) are
illegal immigrants.
2
“The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Arizonans” calculates a per prisoner cost of $18,000 per year minus
reimbursements from the federal SCAAP program. This doesn’t include the monetary costs of the crimes
that led to the incarceration.
3
According to AZ Dept. of Corrections, Research and Statistics.
4
“Undocumented Immigrants in U.S.-Mexico Border Counties”, 2007, University of Arizona.

3

 ¾ In 2005, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) conducted sample studies using a
pool of more than 55,000 illegal immigrants 5 :
ƒ

The group was arrested 6 a total of 459,614 times, averaging 8 arrests
per illegal immigrant. (459,614 / 55,000 = 8)

ƒ

They were arrested for a total of 700,000 offenses 7 , averaging 13
offenses per illegal immigrant. (700,000 / 55,000 = 12.72)

ƒ

12% of these offenses were violent offenses like robbery, assault and
sex-related crimes.

ƒ

15% were property related offenses like burglary, larceny-theft, motor
vehicle theft and property damage.

ƒ

45% were drug or immigration offenses; and the remaining 28% were
for other offenses (traffic, DUI, fraud, weapons violations, obstruction
of justice, etc.)

ƒ

80% of all arrests occurred in three states: California, Texas and
Arizona.

Illegal Immigration and the Maricopa County Attorney’s
Office
In 2005, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) began examining illegal
immigration issues when it hosted the Southwest Conference on Illegal Immigration,
Border Security and Crime. In addition, that year the Office supported state legislation to
make human smuggling a crime. In 2006, the Office led the effort to pass Proposition
100, which prohibits bail for illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes. In 2007, the
Court of Appeals upheld MCAO’s interpretation of the human smuggling law which
allows for the prosecution of illegal immigrants who use the services of coyotes (people
who transport humans across borders for profit). Currently, in 2008, the Office has been
enforcing the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA), which prohibits employees from
using false documents to obtain employment and penalizes employers who intentional or
knowingly hire unauthorized aliens.
MCAO has convicted 125 persons of crimes related to smuggling, managing drop houses,
and kidnapping in connection with smuggling. MCAO has also convicted over 750

5

“Information on Certain Illegal Aliens Arrested in the United States, Briefing for Congressional
Requesters,” April 2005.
6
An arrest does not necessarily result in a prosecution or conviction.
7
One arrest may include multiple offenses. This is why there are 1.5 times more offenses than arrests.

4

 persons of conspiring with smugglers to transport or smuggle themselves in violation of
United States immigration laws.

Illegal Immigration Statistics
Arizona
There have been several serious efforts to estimate the number of illegal immigrants in
Arizona. Most recently the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported the state’s
illegal immigrant population to be 530,000. This is a 62% increase from 330,000 they
reported in 2000. 8 In 2007, the Center for Immigration Studies reported Arizona’s illegal
immigrant population to be 9% (579,000 people). A 2007 study from the Udall Center
for Studies in Public Policy reports the non-citizen immigrant population in Arizona to be
619,800 people. Lastly, Harvard economist George Borjas reported in his January 2008
report, “Labor Market Consequences of Unauthorized Aliens in Arizona” that there are
450,000 undocumented immigrants residing in Arizona. A reasonable average of these
studies is that approximately 9% of Arizona’s population is comprised of illegal
immigrants.

Maricopa County
In 2007 MCAO began systematically tracking defendant illegal immigration status. With
respect to each defendant who is prosecuted for a felony an additional characteristic was
created that staff is required to enter in office computer data. MCAO staff enters for each
defendant whether the defendant is an illegal immigrant, not an illegal immigrant or
unknown. An analysis has found that in 2007 18.7% of defendants sentenced in
Maricopa County Superior Court were illegal immigrants.
This 18.7 % figure is a conservative estimate as approximately 23% of defendants
sentenced had a citizenship status of “unknown”. This is due to the fact that MCAO
requires official documentation to prove citizenship and often such documentation is
initially unavailable. Given the large percentage of unknown defendants, a random
sample of this group was selected. Analysis found 13.1% of the unknown group to be
illegal immigrants, verified via the Criminal History Worksheet. When the random
sample of unknown defendants was included with the known group the total percentage
of illegal immigrant defendants sentenced for felonies in Maricopa County Superior
Court is 21.8%.

8

“Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2007.”
Reported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics, September 2008.
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/ois_ill_pe_2007.pdf . Legal permanent residents
are subtracted from estimates of the total foreign born population.

5

 Data
¾

The following chart compares the highest criminal charge that illegal immigrant
defendants were sentenced for in 2007 with defendant whose status was legal.
The chart does not adjust for the percentage of defendants whose status was
unknown. 9

Highest Ranking

Crime
Agg Asslt/Asslt

Sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court - By Highest Ranking Charge With DOC Stats
Sentenced Stats
DOC Stats
Jail Stats
Total
Sentenced Illegal

Legal

% Illegal

Total
DOC

Illegal

Any Crime w/Weapon
Other

1,708
1,764
635
1,934
467
95
353
188
197
1,272
774
462
1,613
1,214
12
1,287
2,021
9,283

218
200
83
392
48
34
339
20
22
565
660
146
204
159
6
431
418
786

1108
1210
376
717
248
30
11
50
114
494
65
245
1036
818
1
511
1113
6,378

12.8%
11.3%
13.1%
20.3%
10.3%
35.8%
96.0%
10.6%
11.2%
44.4%
85.3%
31.6%
12.6%
13.1%
50.0%
33.5%
20.7%
8.5%

635
736
456
1453
209
53
17
181
105
476
25
27
292
728
6
679
1119
1,132

82
47
67
326
20
22
17
20
2
116
12
5
20
72
4
189
174
2

Total

25,279

4,731

14,525

18.7%

8,329

1,196

Burg/Crim. Tresp.
Robb/Armed Robb
Felony DUI
Any Sex Crime
Any Kidnap
Smuggling
Murder/Manslghtr
Agg/Traffic/Take ID
Forgery/Fraud
Crim Imp/False ID
Poss. Forgery Device
Any Theft/Shoplifting
Auto Theft
Chop Shop
Mfg/Sell/Transp Drugs

Legal

Illegal Legal
Avg.
Illegal Avg.
Months Months
%

Total
Jail

Illegal

Legal

Illegal Legal
Avg.
Illegal Avg.
Months Months
%

371 12.9%
536
6.4%
257 14.7%
497 22.4%
108
9.6%
15
41.5%
0
100.0%
47
11.0%
69
1.9%
255 24.4%
8
48.0%
19
18.5%
198
6.8%
512
9.9%
1
66.7%
284 27.8%
619 15.5%
1,052 0.2%

56
40
86
9
121
91
12
137
21
26
11
13
50
51
53
48
67
28

49
39
86
18
102
79
0
136
74
41
14
11
33
50
60
65
67
30

497
381
107
382
92
18
111
5
47
189
105
73
532
211
3
422
458
954

63
66
11
58
11
4
103
0
10
73
75
17
93
42
1
187
90
78

334
247
77
165
55
10
5
3
25
88
21
47
335
130
0
148
277
734

12.7%
17.3%
10.3%
15.2%
12.0%
22.2%
92.8%
0.0%
21.3%
38.6%
71.4%
23.3%
17.5%
19.9%
33.3%
44.3%
19.7%
8.2%

5
3
7
0
6
9
2
0
4
2
1
2
2
3
2
6
5
3

4
3
6
1
7
7
2
12
4
3
1
2
3
5
0
5
5
3

4,848

51

53

4,587

982

2,701

21.4%

62

73

14.4%

Source: MCAO. Chart excludes the unknown category in its calculations.
¾

As noted in the following graph, illegal immigrants commit a higher number of
certain crimes than persons who are known to be lawfully in this country. These
crimes include kidnapping, forgery, human smuggling and the manufacturing,
selling and transporting of drugs.

9

The “highest criminal charge” tracks the case and the defendant by the most serious charge; lesser charges
against the same defendant in the same case are not included.

6

 Illegal Percent vs Legal Percent of Sentenced Crime

100.0%

% Illegal

% Legal

80.0%

60.0%

40.0%

20.0%

¾

Other

Any Crime w/Weapon

Mfg/Sell/Transp Drugs

Chop Shop

Auto Theft

Any Theft/Shoplifting

Poss. Forgery Device

Crim Imp/False ID

Forgery/Fraud

Agg/Traffic/Take ID

Murder/Manslghtr

Smuggling

Any Kidnap

Any Sex Crime

Felony DUI

Robb/Armed Robb

Burg/Crim. Tresp.

Agg Asslt/Asslt

0.0%

A 2007 analysis of ARS §13-1304A1 (Kidnap/Ransom) as the highest ranking
charge found there were 133 kidnapping cases for ransom filed with the crime
alleged dangerous. 74% of these cases were identified as illegal immigrant cases.
Of those cases that have reached final disposition, 69% of cases received DOC
with the average DOC sentence to be 7.7 years.

Illegal Immigration’s Impact on Maricopa County Crime
¾

Using the violent crime 10 numbers of illegal immigrants sentenced in Maricopa
Superior Court as reported in the previous MCAO data, 16.5% of violent crimes
can be linked to illegal immigrants. In 2007, 18,010 violent crimes were
reported to Maricopa County law enforcement. 11 Applying the illegal immigrant
violent crime percentage to the total violent crime reported in Maricopa County
found 2,973 of reported violent crime to be committed by illegal immigrants.
According to varying cost-of-crime models 12 , violent crimes average
approximately $20,000 per offense. This will be the assumed cost of a single
violent offense. If illegal immigrants accounted for 2,973 of the reported violent
crime in Maricopa County the financial hardship imposed on Maricopa County
citizens totaled approximately $59 million dollars in 2007.

10

Agg. Assault, Sex Crime, Kidnapping, Murder/Manslaughter, and Crime with a Weapon.
Data reported from Maricopa County’s nine largest law enforcement agencies.
12
“Varieties of Criminal Behavior”, Jan Chaiken & Marcia Chaiken, Rand Corporation: “The Costs of
Crime and Justice”, Mark Cohen, Vanderbilt University: “Imprisonment-Crime Link”, James Q. Wilson,
Pepperdine University: The Cost of Crime to Society: New Crime-Specific Estimates for Policy and
Program Evaluation, Kathryn McCollister, PhD
11

7

 ¾

Using the property crime 13 numbers of illegal immigrants sentenced in Maricopa
Superior Court as reported in the previous MCAO data, 18.5% of property
crimes can be linked to illegal immigrants. In 2007, 165,743 property crimes
were reported to Maricopa County law enforcement. 14 Applying the illegal
immigrant property crime percentage to the total property crime reported in
Maricopa County found 6,684 of reported property crime to be committed
by illegal immigrants. According to the Department of Public Safety’s Crime in
Arizona 2007, the average dollar value of stolen property for the State totaled
$3,636 per property offense. If illegal immigrants accounted for 6,684 of the
reported property crime in Maricopa County the financial hardship imposed on
Maricopa County citizens in property alone totaled approximately $24 million
dollars in 2007.

Illegal Immigration, Crimes and Specialized Prosecution
The Special Crimes Bureau of MCAO is comprised of an experienced group of deputy
county attorneys (DCA) committed to prosecuting criminals committing felony offenses.
In particular, the Special Crimes Bureau focuses on criminal activity that violates
immigration law. This includes criminals who conspire to commit human smuggling by
hiring a coyote for transportation across the border. This unique prosecution requires the
bureau’s attorneys to work closely with the United States Customs and Immigration
Services, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security as well as valley
law enforcement. These relationships have helped the bureau improve the investigative,
hearing and trial preparation processes needed to streamline illegal immigration
prosecution. As of July 2008, the County Attorney’s Office successfully prosecuted 750
defendants under the human smuggling statute as conspirators and 125 defendants
charged with transporting and handling, including drop houses, kidnapping and extortion
for ransom.

Noteworthy Prosecutions
¾ In October 2007, Valley police launched an investigation based on an anonymous
call involving a human smuggling drop house in Phoenix. Police determined that
four coyotes were holding 16 illegal aliens captive and threatened to do them
physical harm if increased smuggling fees were not paid. The illegal captives
now identified as victims indicated to police that they had been smuggled from
Mexico and had been held captive in the residence for several days. While at the
residence, the victims stated that they had been guarded and threatened by the
defendants who carried handguns. The victims also stated that they been
collectively extorted by the Defendants. Defendant Jose Cota-Campos was
sentenced to the stipulated term of 7 years in the Arizona Department of
Corrections.
13

Burglary/Criminal Trespass, Robbery, Take ID, Forgery/Fraud, Theft/Shoplifting, Auto Theft, and Chop
Shop.
14
Data reported from Maricopa County’s nine largest law enforcement agencies.

8

 ¾ In July 2007, Valley police investigated a drop house for human smuggling. Four
defendants were holding 16 illegal immigrants captive and threatened to do them
physical harm if an increased smuggling fee was not paid. The victims indicated
that they had been smuggled from Mexico and Nicaragua and had been held
captive at the residence for two to six days. While at the residence, the victims
stated that they had been guarded, threatened and extorted by the defendants who
had AK-47 style assault rifles. Defendants Carlos Felix-Aguilar, Marialuisa
Pacheco-Fraile, Arnoldo Luna, Jorge Montalvo-Toledo were all sentenced to
7-year sentences in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
¾ In September 2007, Valley police followed a Lojack signal in a vehicle theft
investigation to a garage in West Phoenix. The police then identified the residence
as a drop house containing 33 illegal immigrants. Defendant Angel TabareaCastillo, identified as the person in charge of the drop house, was sentenced
to 7 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
¾ A drop house containing about 20 illegal immigrants was identified. Here the
illegal immigrants were robbed of their clothes, wallets, and money at gunpoint.
The coyotes also substantially raised the amount of the smuggling fees that each
smugglee was expected to pay. The coyotes forced the victims to provide
telephone contact information for family, who were then extorted for money for
the safe release of their victim relatives. Five of the illegal immigrants were
bound and placed into a closet. Eventually one of the illegal immigrants was able
to free himself and he attacked one of the coyotes. Defendant Arturo NevaresUgarte was sentenced to a 31-year sentence in the Arizona Department of
Corrections.
¾ Since 2005, there have been more than 1,200 illegal immigrants identified at
drop houses across the Valley. Drop houses can occur in any neighborhood;
however, the majority of drop houses go undetected until a released immigrant or
neighbor makes a report. The Office has recently charged 125 defendants in
connection with transporting, handling, and, in a growing number of cases,
kidnapping and extortion (which often takes place in the drop house setting) of
illegal immigrants. One hundred of these defendants have been prosecuted and
convicted as “smugglers” under the human smuggling statue. The others have
been prosecuted and convicted under kidnapping, extortion and other drop house
related charges. The county attorney’s office has a 99% conviction rate in these
cases.

9

 Legislative and MCAO Policy Changes
Illegal Immigration Legislation
2005
MCAO supported Senate Bill 1372 that made human smuggling a crime, a first step
towards battling illegal immigration. The law allowed local authorities to prosecute those
who smuggle people across the Arizona border. Human smuggling is a Class 4 felony,
punishable with up to three years in prison.

2006
Proposition 100, MCAO helped draft and supported an amendment to the Arizona
Constitution to prohibit bail for any person who is charged with a serious felony offense
and who is unlawfully in the U.S. As a result illegal immigrants who are charged with
serious felonies are no longer being released. Legislation was enacted to specify that class
1, 2, 3 and 4 felony offenses would constitute the "serious felony" offenses for which a
person who has entered or remained in the United States illegally should be denied bail.

2007
In 2007 MCAO supported and the Arizona Legislature enacted the Legal Arizona
Workers Act (LAWA), the first such measure in the nation. The law, which went into
effect in January 2008, allows a court to suspend or revoke the business license of
employers found to have knowingly hired illegal workers. The bill also strengthened the
State’s ID theft laws against persons who use false documents to obtain employment.

2008
MCAO supported amendments to LAWA, which clarified several provisions in LAWA.
It also enacted a new criminal offense to punish an employer who knowingly accepts
false identification from an applicant for employment.
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently upheld the prosecution of illegal immigrants for
conspiring to transport themselves in violation of Arizona's human-smuggling statute.
On July 31, 2008, the Court of Appeals also ruled that Arizona courts have jurisdiction to
prosecute persons under the human smuggling statute when the solicitation took place in
Mexico. The Office successfully argued that because solicitation is a continuing offense
and the illegal immigrant defendant was transported into Maricopa County, the Maricopa
County Attorney was authorized to prosecute under the state's human-smuggling law.

MCAO Policy Changes
In 2008, the MCAO implemented new policy requiring DCA’s in sentencing proceedings
to bring to the court’s attention the fact that a defendant was unlawfully in the United
States. This ensures that the court will consider the aggravating factor under A.R.S. §13702 of the defendant’s being in violation of federal law. It also avoids putting a defendant
into publicly-funded probation program in violation of state law.

10

 In addition the DCA informs the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) that the
defendant is in violation of immigration laws to ensure that immigration proceedings can
commence. If the defendant is not in custody, the DCA asks MCSO to take the defendant
into custody.

Outreach
Law Enforcement
DCA’s in the Special Crimes Bureau have repeatedly presented and trained law
enforcement officers on technical requirements relating to human smuggling, conspiracy,
Proposition 100 and the LAWA. MCSO, other law enforcement agencies, the DEA and
ICE are several of the agencies who have participated in these training sessions.

Public Service Campaigns
In 2007, the MCAO published the Road Map to Crime Prevention booklet and created a
website based on the information. http://www.crimefreeaz.com/drop houses/ includes
important drop house and illegal immigration information, cases and statistics. In 2008,
MCAO’s Road Map to Crime Prevention Booklet was the recipient of a NACo
Achievement Award.

Illegal Immigration Journal
Illegal Immigration Journal http://www.illegalimmigrationjournal.com is an electronic
journal that was launched in 2007, by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. It is a
comprehensive online resource where public, law enforcement and political leaders can
find updated news and information on illegal immigration.

Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA)
This website http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/lawa/index.html was launched in
2008, with the express purpose of providing the public information on the LAWA,
including how to file a complaint. The site also provides resources to businesses that will
assist them in complying with the law. This Office along with the MCSO accepts all
information that is provided to it regarding violations of the law and has declined to
implement barriers that make it hard for the public to report information about
violations. Complaints do not have to be made in person and may be submitted via email
or phone. While it is preferable to have contact information for the person making the
complaint it is not mandatory.
MCAO has jointly sponsored with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry a
series of seminars for the business community on LAWA compliance.

Speaker’s Bureau
MCAO sponsors a Speakers’ Bureau. This is a free public service that provides MCAO
experts who present basic, useful information on a variety of topics in an effort to keep
citizens of Maricopa County aware of public policy, social issues, crime trends and the
11

 criminal justice system. Our experts speak to elementary schools, high schools, colleges,
civic organizations and other business and professional associations throughout Maricopa
County.
The Speakers’ Bureau has provided illegal immigration and Legal Arizona Worker’s Act
(LAWA) presentations to a number of organizations, including area law enforcement
associations, homeowner’s associations and local civic organizations.

Community Events
In November 2005, the MCAO hosted the “Southwest Conference on Illegal
Immigration, Border Security and Crime.” The Conference attracted more than 250
attendees from across the country. The objective was to teach community leaders and
citizens about the impact of illegal immigration on the Southwest and to empower
communities to deal with these issues. Lawmakers, law enforcement, political and
community leaders and members of the community gathered to seek solutions to the
economic, social and public safety concerns of illegal immigration. Speakers included
Andrew Thomas; Congressman Tom Tancredo; Congressman JD Hayworth;
Congressman Jeff Flake; Tamar Jacoby from the Manhattan Institute and John Leo from
U.S. News and World Report. Issues of discussion included employer sanctions, federal
immigration solutions, amnesty and public safety concerns.

Conclusions and Further Research
This analysis found illegal immigrants disproportionately represented in violent and
property crimes as compared to the general population. Arizona’s population is
comprised of approximately 9% illegal immigrants, yet 21.8% of felonies sentenced in
Maricopa County Superior Court are committed by illegal immigrants.
Study limitations include defendants identified as unknown within the Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office; further work is needed to reduce the unknown category.
Further study is also merited of the demographics of the illegal immigrant population in
Arizona and the United States. The considerably higher criminal convictions for illegal
immigrants than the rest of the population found by this study may be due to skewed
demographics. That is, young males account for the bulk of crime in America. If the
illegal immigrant population is over-represented by young males, the higher rate of
criminality might be explained.
Alternatively, the self-selecting nature of risk-taking among many illegal immigrants may
overweight risk-taking in the criminal behavior field. That is, illegal immigrants are
required to violate United States laws to come to this county. They also sometimes have
to take dangerous journeys. These facts may select a high number of risk-taking persons
who may also be willing to engage in other risky criminal behavior.
Continued study and data sharing are required to further illuminate the impact of illegal
immigration on the criminal justice system.

12