The US and Migrants, Myth and Reality

President-elect Donald Trump’s first reaction to Wednesday morning’s terrorist attack in New Orleans was to blame migrants.

“When I said that the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country, that statement was constantly refuted by Democrats and the Fake News Media, but it turned out to be true,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

To complement the almost parodic finger-pointing, his chief advisor-designate, Michael Waltz, stated that in response to the attack, they will seek to “close the border” and “secure our sovereignty.”

But as is often the case with Trump, claiming that he and his allies often exaggerate or lie to underscore their political points would seem an exercise in futility. It is taken for granted and there are numerous precedents.

The New Orleans attack was carried out by Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old alleged Islamist born in the United States, based in Texas, and an Army veteran.

In 2024 there were more than 480 shootings with four or more fatalities in the United States. And overwhelmingly — not to say all — the perpetrators were Americans, often white European Americans.

Migration volumes are a mixed bag. No one can guarantee that all migrants are good, any more than a person can be given carte blanche because he or she was born in such and such a place.

But according to Trump and his allies, it is the migrants who are responsible for the crime wave in the United States, even if the reality is different.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures, of the nearly 180,000 overall arrests made by ICE and broken down by criminal convictions from Oct. 1, 2017, to Sept. 30, 2023, the largest numbers involved immigration-related offenses (16%); driving under the influence of alcohol (15%); dangerous drugs (15%); assault (9%); and traffic violations (9%).

Three percent of the crimes were theft, 1.7% were sexual assault, and 0.7% were homicide.

In other words, while immigrants are not exempt from problems, of Americans settling in the country without permission, the reality is that study after study indicates they commit crimes less frequently than U.S. citizens.

There are approximately 24.5 million non-citizen immigrants in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. About 11 million, including some five million Mexicans, have no legal status.

Part of the American myth is that it is a nation that welcomes immigrants. The reality is that each wave of newcomers paid for their place with blood and tears, and those who were not white European — Latinos and Asians — have been especially targeted. Trump and his allies are maintaining the tradition.