Former President Trump said on Monday that illegal immigrant killers have “bad genes,” and with illegal immigrant crimes remaining a top issue for voters heading into the November election, he said, “There are a lot of bad genes,” he warned.
“What if we just allowed people to come to our open border? 13,000 of them are murderers, many of them far more than one.” The 2024 Republican presidential candidate told radio host Hugh. He killed more people than he ever did before, and now he's living happily in the United States.” Hewitt.
President Trump appeared to be referring to the more than 13,000 undocumented immigrants in the United States who are on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's undetained records due to murder convictions. The data was revealed in a letter to lawmakers last month. An unknown number of them are in federal or state prisons, and some entered the U.S. during the previous administration. Among those not in custody, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges, according to the data.
New poll finds Trump with wide lead on immigration and border security in key battleground states
Former Republican presidential candidate Trump promised to complete construction of the southern border wall if elected. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
The revelation of this data once again highlights the issue of illegal immigrant crime. The issue is a top concern for many voters amid a massive border security crisis that has seen record numbers of people at the border and numerous high-profile crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants. It becomes. immigration.
“You know, they're killers now, but I believe this. It's in their genes. And there are a lot of bad genes in our country right now,” he said. Said.
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Although Trump appeared to be referring only to the killer, some media outlets were quick to pounce on his words, accusing him of referring to immigrants more broadly. An NBC News headline described it as the former president's “latest disdain for immigrants.”
The Washington Post, Politico, and other mainstream media outlets repeated this same report. Mediaite described Trump's comments as “appalling,” with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “Such language is hateful, disgusting, and inappropriate. There is no place for such words.”
The division is indicative of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the surge of migrants crossing the border. (Getty Images)
President Trump has promised to take a tougher stance on illegal immigration as well as some legal immigrants. He has promised to launch a major deportation campaign if elected. He also promised to complete the border wall he started during his first administration and end the Biden-era parole program that brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the United States.
Polls show President Trump leads his Democratic opponent, Vice President Harris, on immigration and border security issues. Republicans argue that the Biden administration encouraged and fueled the border crisis by rolling back Trump-era policies and expanding catch-and-release.
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Harris has sought to position herself as the right candidate to take charge of border security, pointing to her past as a prosecutor investigating transnational criminal organizations. She also supports a bipartisan border security bill announced this year that would sharply increase funding for border security and limit some asylum admissions.
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Harris and the Biden administration have accused President Trump of opposing the bill for political purposes, but conservatives say the bill would only codify high levels of illegal immigration.
Meanwhile, border encounter rates have declined sharply, dropping by more than 50% since the summer. The administration blames this in part on an executive order signed by President Biden restricting asylum-seekers entering the United States, and Harris recently supported moves to further strengthen that order.
