Making the Argument with Nick Freitas They’re NOT “Misinformed”…They’re LYING
Mar 2, 2026
Ken LaCourt, creator of the Elephants in Rooms YouTube channel who digs into data-driven investigations. He challenges widely cited immigrant crime statistics and highlights how tracking, definitions, and missing records can skew results. Short, punchy segments examine flawed studies, shifting legal categories, and the political incentives that amplify misleading numbers.
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Single Texas Study Drives A Flawed Narrative
- Illegal immigrant crime rates widely cited are based on a single Texas study that is not definitive.
- Ken LaCourt shows the study's 2012–2018 scope and limited identification method make its conclusions uncertain.
Nationwide Data Holes Make Rates Unreliable
- Federal and state reporting gaps mean most local jails and prisons aren't tracked for immigration status.
- FBI and Bureau of Justice Statistics rely on state participation, and many blue states ignore or self-report, muddying national totals.
Methodology Misses First-Time Entrants And Hidden Cases
- Cato and academic studies matched DHS-identified deportees to Texas arrests, missing entrants without prior federal encounters.
- That method undercounts first-time illegal entrants and later-discovered cases (11,000 in Texas) not in the dataset.