England is who sent us criminals

Donald Trump said in May that “millions” of criminals have been crossing illegally into the United States at our southern border.

There’s a long history of criminals coming into this country.

In the 1600s, England emptied its prisons and workhouses of felons and vagrants, and sent them to the American colonies in a program known as “convict transportation.” Many criminals were successfully rehabilitated in America and became “substantial citizens.”

However, Maryland excluded convicts by law in 1676 and New York placed heavy restrictions on them. New Jersey and Pennsylvania enacted taxes on them. In response, Parliament overturned colonial anti-convict laws.

A newspaper in Virginia published a piece stating, “In what can Britain show a more Sovereign contempt for us than by emptying their jails into our settlements, unless they would likewise empty their Jakes (toilets) on our tables.” Benjamin Franklin suggested rattlesnakes be transported to England in return for the shipment of hardened criminals to America.

Today, however, there is no evidence of any systematic government program to dump criminals on America like in pre-revolutionary times. In fact, the limited research shows generally lower crime rates for immigrants than for our own citizenry.