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FACT BRIEF

Was El Paso one of the safest big cities in the US in 2022?

By Brandy Ruiz
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YES

In 2022, the most recent year available, the El Paso Police Department reported 1,692 crimes per 100,000 people. Only nine of the nation’s 100 largest cities reported lower crime rates, according to crime data compiled by the FBI.

Frisco and Laredo, which are less than half as populous as El Paso, were the only Texas cities with lower crime rates.

The city with the highest crime rate, Tacoma, Washington, had almost six times more reported crimes per capita than El Paso in 2022.

Politicians such as Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have linked undocumented immigrants and crime in discussions about the U.S.-Mexico border. A 2020 PNAS study, which analyzed arrests recorded by the Texas Department of Public Safety between 2012 and 2018, found that undocumented immigrants had lower felony crime rates than both legal immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens in Texas.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer
Google Docs 2022 FBI Crime Data for America’s 100 Largest Cities
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Comparing crime rates between undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, and native-born US citizens in Texas
X (formerly Twitter) NEW — Speaking to reporters outside Shelby Park, ⁦@LtGovTX argued that Texas is being invaded by 'murders…terrorists…rapists'
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El Paso Matters
El Paso Matters is a member-supported nonpartisan media organization that uses journalism to expand civic capacity in our region. We inform and engage with people in El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and neighboring communities to create solutions-driven conversations about complex issues shaping our region.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.