Ohio More Dangerous Than U.S.-Mexico Border

So says CQ Press (h/t John Cole):

Rep. Silvestre Reyes smacks down the Orange Man.

Speaker Boehner should focus on controlling the level of violence in his own state before tarnishing the image of border communities that remain among the safest places to live in America.  As his office asserts that Congress cannot consider reforming our broken immigration system until border violence is under control, the fact remains that the six largest cities in Ohio all have higher rates of violence and crime than every major city along the U.S.-Mexico border.  In fact, the Speaker's own district in Dayton, Ohio saw more homicides in 2009 and 2010 than Texas' four largest border cities combined, despite the fact that Dayton's population of 141,500 is only about one-tenth of the size by comparison.

And the greater violence in Ohio spans all categories:

According to the most recent City Crime Rankings Survey by CQ Press, Ohio's cities have higher rates of violence and crime in every category, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and motor vehicle theft than border communities.

The data:
Murder Rate (National Rate = 5.0 Murders per 100,000 Population)

15. Dayton 25.5
25. Cleveland 20.0
34. Canton 16.6
35. Cincinnati 16.5
69. Toledo 11.3
72. Columbus 10.9
87. Akron 9.7
117. Laredo 7.5
250. San Diego 3.1
252. McAllen 3.0
292. Brownsville 2.2
292. Yuma 2.2
305. El Paso 1.9

Cities Ranked by Highest Rates of Crime (400 total)

7. Cleveland
20. Dayton
22. Washington, D.C.
24. Cincinnati
27. Toledo
37. Canton
47. Akron
49. Columbus
144. Laredo
204. Yuma
221. San Diego
275. El Paso
291. McAllen
304. Brownsville

And what is really amazing is that the murder rate in Dayton was much higher in the 1970's than it is now.  I think the murder rate peaked in 1974.  It is amazing what 24-hour news does to your mind.