Report: Migrant Crime Soared in Obama's 'Welcoming Cities'

A report that traces the effects of former President Barack Obama’s pro-migrant “Welcoming Cities” program finds that crime by illegal aliens soared in areas where the program was instituted.

The program did not define “sanctuary cities,” but it did offer financial incentives and coordinated city governments with some 300 extreme, left-wing, non-governmental, non-profit groups that advocate for illegal aliens, according to the Center Square.

The program, launched by Obama in 2014, maintained that “Certified Welcoming is a formal designation for cities and counties that have created policies and programs reflecting their values and commitment to immigrant inclusion,” given by the nonpartisan nonprofit organization, “Certified Welcoming.” The program added that it aimed to “build more inclusive and welcoming communities in the United States.”

The effort claimed that local governments had “committed to adhering to inclusive policies and practices [in its] ‘Welcoming Standard,'” to educate “immigrants about their rights and responsibilities under the law.”

In part, the program was meant to train local pro-illegal groups to inform illegal aliens how to avoid federal immigration laws and law enforcement.

The report notes that 36 cities had signed onto Obama’s immigration law-busting initiative, which counted George Soros as one of its partners.

However, the report adds that crimes by illegal aliens soared in many of the communities that signed onto the Obama initiative. The report cites rising crime rates in Chicago, Des Moines, Los Angeles, and others.

In the interim between the 2014 Obama effort and today, though, the troubles with untrammeled migration, coupled with the soft-on-crime approach, have caused some communities to begin reversing course.

“Earlier this year, Louisville’s mayor revoked the city’s sanctuary policies in the Certified Welcoming city after receiving legal threats from the DOJ. On Oct. 31, Baltimore County signed an agreement to cooperate with ICE and was removed from the DOJ’s sanctuary jurisdiction list,” Center Square reported.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that 13 states, four counties, and 18 cities have openly declared themselves “sanctuary” localities.

“Sanctuary policies impede law enforcement and put American citizens at risk by design,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue bringing litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to eradicate these harmful policies around the country.”

The 36 localities that have signed onto the Obama “Welcoming Standard” includes Boise, Idaho; Champaign and Oak Park, IL; Indianapolis and Allen County, IN; Emporia, KS; Louisville, KY; New Orleans, LA; Portland, ME; Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Montgomery counties, MD; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; Crete and Lincoln, NE; Nashua, NH; Charlotte, NC; Dayton, Cuyahoga Falls, and Toledo, Cuyahoga, and Lucas Counties, OH; Tulsa, OK; Erie, Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, PA; Austin and Dallas, TX; Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, UT; Roanoke, VA; and Seattle, WA.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: Facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston, or at X/Twitter @WTHuston.