Do illegal immigrants pose a threat to public safety? It’s one of the key questions at the heart of today’s debate over immigration policy. But new research from the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute suggests that the common tough-on-crime talking point just isn’t true.

A new policy brief authored by Cato’s Director of Immigration Studies Alex Nowrasteh sheds light on the issue. After examining 2017 data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Nowrasteh found that “399,155 native-born Americans, 16,275 illegal immigrants, and 18,235 legal immigrants were convicted of crimes” that year in Texas.