On the December 14 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Gunny Bob Show, host “Gunny” Bob Newman repeated the often-cited but unsubstantiated statistic that “12 Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens,” and suggested that the figure must be accurate because it was produced by U.S. Rep. Steve King's (R-IA) office. Yet as Colorado Media Matters has noted, King's claim lacks supporting empirical evidence.

Responding to a caller's question about the 12-murders-a-day figure, Newman indicated he did not know if the figure was accurate but said he would try to “verify or shoot down that figure.” Later in the show, Newman stated:

NEWMAN: According to Representative Steve King out of Iowa, 12 Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens. Twelve Americans -- and so there you have it. And that's according to Congressman Steve King out of Iowa. ... So, [caller], apparently your, your figure -- at least by Congressman King's statistics -- are accurate.

But contrary to Newman's statement, Colorado Media Matters has noted (here and here) that King's figures, which guests on KHOW 630-AM's The Peter Boyles Show as well as host Peter Boyles himself have repeated, are based on a variety of dubious assumptions.

In the past, Boyles' guests have cited statements by King in claiming that 25 Americans are killed each day by illegal immigrants, and Boyles has falsely claimed that this figure is “a GOA [sic] number,” referring to the U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO]. But rather than asserting that the GAO reported this figure, King claimed in May to have “extrapolate[d]” it from a GAO study he requested that, he said, showed that 28 percent of inmates in federal, state, and local prisons and jails are “criminal aliens.”

In fact, there is no GAO study reporting that 25 Americans per day are killed by illegal immigrants. Moreover, Colorado Media Matters has reviewed GAO reports addressed to King as well as figures released by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and has found no support for his assertion that 28 percent of inmates in all prisons and jails are criminal aliens. During his December 14 broadcast, Newman referred to the “28 percent” figure, based on “one study [he saw] earlier this year.”

From the December 14 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Gunny Bob Show:

CALLER: Yeah, hiya. Can you confirm this for me, that we -- we're losing 12 citizens every day to illegal aliens?

NEWMAN: You mean nationwide?

CALLER: Yeah.

NEWMAN: I -- I do not have a report like that in front of me, so I cannot confirm it independently. No.

CALLER: Yeah. I got it from someplace. I get so much mail, you know, from the anti-immigration people and all that stuff, that --

NEWMAN: Anti-immigration, or anti-illegal immigration?

CALLER: Yeah, anti-illegal immigration.

NEWMAN: Got it.

CALLER: So anyway, I thought that you might want to hear about that.

NEWMAN: Yeah, again -- I don't know if that figure is accurate and I don't have a study like that in front of me. It would be quite easy to find out, I would imagine.

CALLER: Yeah, it doesn't sound too good.

NEWMAN: No, it doesn't. When you look at -- I saw one study earlier this year that said 28 percent of our prisons -- and this is just one study and I don't have it sitting in front of me. Twenty-eight percent of our prisons are, are filled with illegal aliens. Twenty-eight percent. Which is -- which is very disproportionate, if that number is accurate. It would be very disproportionate to, to their percentage of the regular population.

CALLER: Yeah, I've been hearing numbers similar to that too. So.

NEWMAN: Well, there you have it. [Caller], thank you for your call. That is an interesting figure that [caller] brought out, but what I'll do is, I'll try to -- at the top of the hour break -- I'll look around, see if I can verify or shoot down that figure.

[ ... ]

NEWMAN: According to Representative Steve King out of Iowa, 12 Americans are murdered every day by illegal aliens. Twelve Americans -- and so there you have it. And that's according to Congressman Steve King out of Iowa. 303-713-8585. So, [caller], apparently your, your figure -- at least by Congressman King's statistics -- are accurate. 303-713-8585. I'm “Gunny” Bob on 850 KOA. As expected, the pro-illegal immigration Denver Post says that this raid demonstrates why we need an amnesty bill.