In the past few months conservatives have been insisting that there has been a recent crime wave in America involving immigration. The term for such a thing is Migrant Crime, a branch of crime done entirely by those who came to America from other countries. Former President Donald Trump claims to have invented the term Migrant Crime and warns that an “invasion” of illegal and criminal immigrants has plagued the country. “They come from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and from South America, and they’re destroying our country.” he said rather calmly on talk show Life, Liberty, and Levin. The man has always been big on immigration being a huge problem, stating “The Democrats say, ‘Please don’t call them animals. They’re humans.’ I said, ‘No, they’re not humans, they’re not humans, they’re animals’“ at a campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 2, 2024. For years he’s claimed that “rapists” and “murderers” flood in from other nations. If re-elected, he will execute orders targeting millions of those who have migrated to America, carrying out mass deportation across the country. Their policies on immigration will crack down even on people who “look foreign,” and will violate several human rights and separate many families. His reign is a threat to millions of people who just want to live their lives, and happen to come from other places.
One might be convinced by these claims of an invasion, that is if they don’t look into them further. One would find that Migrant Crime isn’t real, and perhaps people are just racist. Yet people still believe these bogus claims, immigration being the top problem among American citizens surveyed.
“The latest results are based on an April 1-22 Gallup survey, as elevated numbers of migrants continued to seek entry at the U.S. southern border.” – Gallup News
Crime rates in America have not gone up since more and more people have migrated to the country – a statement on which fact checkers corrected Trump during the presidential debate – and crime rates are even larger in American citizens than the people who have come from elsewhere.
“But national statistics show no sign of a migrant-driven crime wave. Violent crime is trending down, after the spikes of 2020-2021, even as migration has surged. Past studies have found immigrants to be less likely to commit crimes. While it’s possible the newer arrivals are contributing to crime rates, it’s nearly impossible to tell how much, as the FBI’s statistics aren’t parsed by immigration status.” – NPR
Crimes are committed by humans in general, and even if there’s a case of a migrant doing something wrong, using such an example to generalize that entire population is senseless. It’s common that when people view a group as lower than them, they will generalize that group based on the worst parts of it. We’ve seen it throughout history, and once that group is generalized for being bad, crime is often inflicted on them.
The promotion of the concept of Migrant Crime goes beyond Donald Trump’s claims, also being reported in places like Fox News. In February of 2024, Fox News reported a crime-patrol group known as the Guardian Angels for attacking a man who was allegedly shoplifting in the city of New York. They identified the man as a “migrant” which was very much not the case, police from the event saying the man was a New Yorker and that no evidence was provided he was shoplifting. The founder, Curtis Sliwa, said in an interview that he believed the man was a migrant because he was speaking in Spanish. When the event occurred that Curtis Sliwa was interviewed by Fox News, the corporation did not play into tearing down the delusions that they were stopping crime, and did not express that they were acting out of racism. Instead the reporter played into the same perspective as the Guardian Angels. In the clip that showed the event, Curtis Sliwa also complained that migrants were receiving prepaid debit cards and basic care needs.
“He takes care of the illegal aliens, and forsakes his own people. Especially the African American poor and impoverished, who elected him mayor of the city of New York, over me Curtis Sliwa.” said Sliwa during the report. In actuality, 53 million dollars were dedicated to debit cards that migrants could use exclusively for groceries and baby supplies, and were done for both basic care and to stimulate the economy.
AP News says, “The cards are a possible replacement for non-perishable food boxes the city currently provides to migrants. They will be loaded with an average of $12.52 per person, per day for 28 days, according to Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams.” It was said the program was also done to save money, but many voices online misrepresented the purpose, saying it was fueling the problem of immigration. Many also got the type of aid incorrect, saying that they would receive credit cards and not debit cards.
There are many other instances where citizens are seeing people of color nearby a (possibly non-existent) situation, assuming they come from somewhere else, and act out of violence on them. Then when the incident is represented over more conservative media, the group having violence inflicted on them is said to be the ones causing it in the first place. It is a dangerous delusion to have in modern times, and I recommend looking into it further yourself. I learned about this issue through an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and will link it in my sources. The well being of many is on the line, and people who come into America are human beings, not animals. They should be automatically seen as equal to everyone else, belonging to the idea of a country does not make you any more of a human being. You may find that what is animalistic is Donald Trump’s views on the matter, being heavily tribalistic and nationalist. I highly recommend you stay away from voting for anybody in the country who views other people as animals. It’s the reason we have had horrific things like the Holocaust and the genocide of natives during the reign of colonization after all.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/09/1249626979/migrant-crime-politics-new-york-city
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-nyc-migrants-credit-debit-cards-prepaid-240335300869
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/debunking-myth-migrant-crime-wave
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6361331492112
https://news.gallup.com/poll/644570/immigration-named-top-problem-third-straight-month.aspx
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-nyc-migrants-credit-debit-cards-prepaid-240335300869
