Despite Trump’s hysteria mongering, studies show immigrants less likely to commit crimes than U.S. born
President Trump lies.
He lies almost every time he speaks. He lies when caught in previous lies. Tens of thousands of lies, fully documented and self evident. He even lies in math, claiming he created a 1,500% price reduction in drug prices!
The biggest lie, a key to his MAGA voter support, is saying undocumented immigrants are criminals and rapists. It was his first policy statement on the first day of his first campaign. He’s repeated it thousands of times.
All studies and research of immigrant populations, including illegal immigrant populations, have found that to be untrue but the misperception persists among those who want it to be true.
Now, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her masked ICE troops have unintentionally exposed just how blatant that lie is.
ICE forces have been tasked with finding these thousands and thousands (maybe millions?) of violent criminals; but they have hit a snag.
Significant numbers of them can’t be found. They don’t exist — never did.
ICE forces quickly discovered there were very, very few actual undocumented criminal individuals available for arrest. They couldn’t meet their quotas from day one. The basic justification for the Trump presidency has been exposed as a fantasy.
Investigations of those rounded up by ICE and placed in detention centers or deported have found that more than 70% are not and have not been criminals, and plenty of those with actual criminal history have mostly minor blemishes like traffic violations or simply crossing the border. A very small percentage are a danger to the USA in any way.
Noem says these are “the worst of the worst.” A lie on top of a lie.
Her ICE campaign is transparently bogus. Those who have committed serious crimes have been arrested, prosecuted, jailed and deported already. Not all, of course, but most of them. The wild idea that gang members, murderers, rapists and other horrible immigrant people are running rampant among those born here was always contrary to what we can see for ourselves.
So ICE masked marauders, frustrated by not meeting their quotas or cashing in their bounties, have resorted to sweeping up brown-skinned people with no probable cause. American citizens, children, good neighbors, good workers, veterans, tourists and other non-criminals have been unconstitutionally detained without due process. The Trump Supreme Court has ruled it’s OK for ICE to use skin color as a reason.
Noem’s private ICE army has repeatedly been caught acting outrageously and cruelly without reason despite trying forcefully to avoid being videoed. Many immigrants who are citizens or not have stopped going to work; many are uncertain whether to send kids to school. Folks who have been solid and admirable members of society are living in fear.
When the fanatics in old Salem, Mass., couldn’t find any actual witches, they just started rounding up innocent, vulnerable women to accuse and hang. Those lies survived long enough to ruin lives and forever stain the liars.
How long will these Trump and Noem lies prevail and will those who enable the cruelty they foster (Thune, Rounds Johnson, Rhoden?) ever be held accountable?
Mike Levsen is a former mayor of Aberdeen and a regular contributor to The South Dakota Standard.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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