While Republicans such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Former President Donald Trump describe the U.S.-Mexico border as lawless and chaotic, violent crime and homicide rates in several border cities tell a different story. An analysis of FBI crime data by Axios reveals that U.S. cities along the Mexican border rank among the safest in the country.
According to Axios, the combined homicide rate for 11 U.S. cities on the Mexican border was lower than the national average.
These cities—Brownsville, McAllen, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and El Paso in Texas; Sunland Park in New Mexico; Nogales and Yuma in Arizona; and Calexico and San Diego in California—had an average homicide rate of 4.4 per 100,000 residents, compared to 5.7 nationwide, per the analysis.
Four of these cities reported no homicides in 2023, with Yuma recording the highest homicide rate at 11. In contrast, El Paso, known as one of the safest cities of its size, recorded a homicide rate of 3.8. The city has a population of around 678,000, mostly Mexican American residents.
However, when it comes to violent crime—which includes homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—the border communities had rates slightly above the national average.
The 11 communities averaged a violent crime rate of 393.8 per 100,000 residents in 2023, compared to 364 nationwide. Calexico, California, had the lowest violent crime rate at 136.6, while Yuma reported the highest at 474.9.
For context, these 11 cities have a combined population of 2.9 million, yet their collective violent crime rate remains much lower than that of Houston (1,110.3), with a population of 2.6 million, and Chicago (632.7), with a population of 2.3 million.
Further south is McAllen, which neighbors Reynosa, Mexico—a city notorious for drug cartel violence and territorial disputes. Despite its proximity, McAllen's violent crime rate stands well below the national average at 218.5.
The communities examined by Axios have high percentages of Latino residents and poverty rates above the national average. As the 2024 election approaches, border security remains a hot-button issue, with Republican and Democratic candidates pledging to focus on the topic.
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