At least the economic downturn has some upsides.

Illegal immigration rates are falling in tandem with the economy's downturn. That means it's pretty likely that the crime rates in certain cities will likely fall, as well.

Phoenix, one of the major sanctuary cities in the United States, has a major violent crime problem. The county's prosecutor has revealed statistics that demonstrate that illegal immigrants do commit a good portion of the crime in the county. Since his statistics are county wide, we can assume that Phoenix's numbers are much higher than the numbers cited in the story; however, with the mayor's policy forbidding police from inquiring into immigration status in arrests, we cannot be sure how much higher.

What these sanctuary cities attempt to sweep under the rug is the types they provide sanctuary for: the newest, most dangerous gang bangers currently in the United States. These are the same gangs run by the drug cartels committing murders in Mexico, as well as bribing the Mexican military to get their people and drugs across our borders.

With the economy faltering, though, and the money pool shrinking, there are enough fewer hardworking illegals who've come for a better life that city politicians will not long be able to justify their foolish, short-sighted, dangerous policies.