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1 1 (January 31, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekkm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service nforming the legislitive debate since 1914 0 January 31, 2023 Improving Crime Victimization Data for Noncitizen Populations Accurate and comprehensive crime data are vital to understanding the scope of criminal victimizations in the United States, including those affecting noncitizens and immigrant communities. These data may be particularly important in the case of noncitizens, as there are several forms of immigration relief available to noncitizen victims of crime (e.g., the U and T nonimmigrant statuses; for more information, see CRS Report R47404, Immigration Relief for Noncitizen Crime Victims). By improving the quality of data on noncitizen crime victims, policymakers could develop immigration policy that more precisely reflects their needs and experiences. There are several federal programs that collect and publish crime data, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS') National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) (for more information on both programs, see CRS Report R46668, The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): Benefits and Issues. However, not all data collection programs include information on noncitizen victimization. For example, NIBRS, the FBI's primary crime data program, does not collect information on the citizenship status of crime victims or offenders. Congress may consider these information gaps when looking to data that can inform federal policies and programs to measure as well as respond to crime against noncitizens. Federal Data on Criminal Victimizations Involving Noncitizens The NCVS is an annual survey administered by BJS of a representative sample of U.S. households. All household members aged 12 and older report information on nonfatal victimizations (i.e., sexual assault, robbery, aggravated/simple assault, and personal larceny) and household property crimes (i.e., frequency, characteristics, and consequences) they experienced, including those reported and unreported to police. The NCVS added a question about citizenship status starting with the 2017 survey. From 2017 to 2021, NCVS data have shown a slightly lower violent victimization rate for noncitizens compared to U.S. citizens. Additionally, from 2019 to 2021, the violent victimization rate (this includes incidents of rape/sexual assault, robbery, and both simple and aggravated assault) among noncitizens declined from 17.7 per 1,000 people to 9.8; for U.S. citizens, that rate declined from 21.1 per 1,000 people to 16.9. The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that collects national data on violent deaths, including homicides and suicides. These data are collected from death certificates, coroners/medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies and include information on foreign- born (i.e., not born in the United States or U.S. territories) decedents. Approximately 49% of the foreign-born population are not naturalized citizens. NVDRS data is in a restricted access database, but a 2022 study found that 8% of the homicides captured in the 2017 NVDRS data were of foreign-born victims. Estimates indicate that the foreign- born population at this time made up about 14% of the U.S. population. (For more information on the foreign-born population, see CRS In Focus IF11806, Citizenship and Immigration Statuses of the U.S. Foreign-Born Population.) Congress has shown an interest in addressing human trafficking (both labor and sex trafficking), including providing immigration relief for certain noncitizen trafficking victims (i.e., the T visa); however, there are no federal data collections directly capturing trafficking victims' experiences. Although NIBRS collects data on trafficking offenses, it does not collect information on the citizenship status of crime victims. While the frequency of human trafficking of noncitizens is unknown, the number of applications for T nonimmigrant status for those who are victims of severe forms of human trafficking generally increased from 2012 to 2020, with a 35% increase between 2020 and 2021. (For more information on human trafficking data, see CRS Report R47211, Criminal Justice Data: Human Trafficking.) Concerns Regarding Citizenship and Immigration Status Data Although adding citizenship or immigration status questions to national crime data collection programs has the potential to improve the understanding of victimizations of noncitizens in theory, in practice these questions may affect participation rates. For example, citizenship questions may discourage noncitizens from participating in national surveys or from reporting offenses to law enforcement agencies that would be reflected in data collected through programs like NIBRS. Policymakers might consider how to balance participation (by eliminating questions that may discourage noncitizens or other populations from reporting criminal victimizations) and data granularity (by adding questions that will allow for more detailed understanding of crime, including rates of noncitizen victimization). A similar issue arose after the Department of Commerce announced its intention to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The Census is meant to count every resident in the United States (regardless of legal status), and has many uses including informing public policy, shaping congressional districts and the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives, and determining funding

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