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A 2001 study by researchers Robert C. Davis, Edna Erez, and Nancy Avitabile surveyed immigrants about why they did not report crimes to police. The most common reason was a language barrier, followed by cultural differences and a lack of understanding about how the criminal justice system works in the United States. Fear of deportation lagged well behind.

Vaughan also analyzed calls for service at the police precinct level in Los Angeles and Boston, which both participated in a program called Secure Communities that promoted cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement. Crime rates, not the foreign-born share of the precinct populations, affected calls for service.

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“What I found was what makes crime reporting numbers move is more crimes being committed,” she said.

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Michael Cutler, a retired immigration agent who served on a federal drug task force in New York, said it is ridiculous to think that police investigating crimes press witnesses and informants about their immigration status.

“This notion is a big, fat lie,” he said. “Many of my informants were illegal aliens, and we worked with them, and they worked with us, and it was marvelous … Why would you screw around with the guy who is trying to help you?”

Vaughan said that law enforcement officials can sponsor illegal immigrants and their families for U visas if they are victims of crime and assisted prosecutions.

“Victims and witnesses are not targets for deportation unless they are also criminals,” she said.[lz_pagination]