I read with anguish and sadness the effects of the legislative measures of this president, and I wonder how many millions of people will suffer as a consequence of these? Did the believers in universal or Judeo-Christian values who voted for Trump knew the damage he could do? Because honestly, I think most of them did not know. In the first note [1], I talked about the expected child deaths in the next 5 years, due to his cuts. In this second note, I consider what motivates immigration, as well as the role that Hispanic immigrants play in both national crime and the economy of the country. This allows for an analysis of the validity of Trump’s comments about immigrants throughout his political career and the true reason behind them.
II. Immigration
The reasons for emigration have not changed much over the years and remain very powerful. It is not easy to comprehend what an emigrant goes through, but I suggest that the reader try to imagine what it means to leave behind family, friends, and daily distractions, the typical foods and drinks, and in general the environment in which one has grown up, in order to venture with few economic resources, if any, into a new and unknown world, with a different language that often most people do not speak or do not speak well, where one starts from scratch and many treat you as inferior and ignorant. This can help us understand a little the enormous weight of the factors that drive immigration, whether authorized or not. Among others, the factors motivating emigration usually include having suffered in the countries of origin: violence, persecution, crime, political instability, extreme poverty, and a lack of opportunities, significant climate changes, the search for family reunification, or access to appropriate education. These causes often intertwine and can jointly influence migration decisions, reflecting the complexity of migratory movements in today’s world.
In recent years, judicial delays and the lack of capacity to process immigration applications in the USA have also contributed to the increase in illegal immigration.
Donald Trump knows how important his words about unauthorized immigrants are. Some of the expressions he has used are: «migrant criminals,» «illegal monster,» «murderers,» «gang members,» «poisoning our country,» «taking their jobs,» «the greatest invasion in the history of our country.» Repetition has been fundamental in Trump’s discourse throughout his political career.
The Marshall Project used text analysis to identify 13 key claims about immigration in more than 350,000 public statements by Trump from Factba.se, some of which Trump has made 500 times or more.
The Project concludes that: All of these claims are false or deeply misleading!
Research has shown that the more often someone hears a claim, the more true it seems to them. Millions of Americans and people around the world have heard these claims.
Here they are, verified by the Marshall Project team. Trump claims that:
Unauthorized immigrants are criminals [said more than 575 times], snakes that bite [more than 35 times], eat pets, come from prisons and mental institutions [more than 560 times], cause crimes in sanctuary cities [more than 185 times], and a cluster of isolated and tragic cases prove that they are killing Americans en masse [more than 235 times]. They are stealing Americans’ public benefits [more than 270 times] and their jobs [more than 155 times]. A wall must be built [675+], and mass deportations are acceptable because Eisenhower did it [50+ times].
Since often the full comment is more revealing, here are a few -the list is long- of the president’s comments over the years:
a. On Mexicans. Campaign Launch Speech (2015):
«When Mexico sends its people, it is not sending the best. […] They’re bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They are rapists. And some, I guess, are good people.»
b. On immigrants from African countries and Haiti (2018): According to multiple sources, at a private meeting, Trump referred to these countries as ‘shithole countries’ and asked why the U.S. did not receive more immigrants from countries like Norway.
c. Comments on migrant caravans (2018): During the midterm elections, Trump described the caravans of migrants coming from Central America as an ‘invasion’ and said that among them were ‘criminals’ and ‘very bad people.’
d. On Muslims (2015): He proposed a «total and complete block» of Muslims entering the U.S. until authorities «can figure out what the hell is going on.»
e. «Bad genes» by homicidal migrants. In October 2024, Trump said during an interview with Hugh Hewitt, «he’s a murderer… I believe this: it’s in their genes. And we have a lot of bad genes in our country right now.» He claimed that thousands of homicidal immigrants had «introduced bad genes» to the U.S., and charged that hundreds of thousands more had criminal records.
f. In December 2023 and reiterated in 2024, he referred to illegal immigrants as ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’ comparing their ideology to that of Hitler.
g. Poem: ‘Come here illegally and we will deport you’ (February 14, 2025). That day, the Republican White House published a humorous Christmas poem on social media:
‘Roses are red / violets are blue / come here illegally and we will deport you.’
Linked to Trump’s administration, it generated strong backlash and was described as ‘repugnant.’
h. Identification of criminals among migrants. In April 2025, he acknowledged that «many migrants are good,» but insisted that many were «criminals» and that the country was «under attack» by those people — accusing them of killings — while criticizing judges who were hindering his immigration policies.
i. «Illegal immigrants are killing our citizens.»
I understand that many citizens were worried about the numerous immigrants entering the country illegally, and I don’t think anyone opposed properly securing the national territory to prevent illegal immigration, or to better control the entry of immigrants, or to legalize the status of all immigrants.
But what is true about the claims regarding the criminality of immigrants? I don’t believe the majority of the population was aware of the following statistics:
Imprisonment rates in 2023 per 100,000 people:
The graph clearly indicates that the incarceration rates of American citizens over the years is consistently much higher than that of authorized immigrants, which in turn is significantly greater than that of unauthorized immigrants.
In fact, from 1980 to 2022, as the immigrant population increased (from 6.2% to 13.9%), the overall crime rate fell by almost 60% (from 5400 to 2335 arrests per 100,000 people). In 2020, immigrants were 60% less likely to be incarcerated than natives. The evidence is clear: Immigrants, including the unauthorized, commit fewer crimes and have lower incarceration rates than the native population. In some cases, their presence is associated with a reduction in crime, especially where inclusive policies exist.
What contribution do immigrants make to the country’s workforce, as well as to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) research and university teaching, and in doctoral graduations in those fields?
1. Food preparation and services (Bars, Restaurants…): 24% of workers are immigrants. This sector is particularly dependent on immigrant labor, which often fills positions in cooking, service, and cleaning.
2. Construction: approximately 14% of this workforce is undocumented immigrants, the number increases when considering legal immigrants.
3. Maintenance, cleaning, and gardening: From 17% to 24% depending on the type of work.
4. Childcare: 20% are migrants, in large cities it exceeds 40-50%.
5. Healthcare sector in general: Although in some states like Arkansas it only reaches 5%, nationally they represent 16%.
6. In some food processing and packaging industries, they are predominant, as well as in professional transportation (truck drivers, delivery, etc.) also very present without a specific national percentage.
7. Academia: Between 40% and 60% of the university faculty in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) were born abroad, while 1/3 of the doctorates in these areas are received by international students. Immigrants have received 35% of the Nobel Prizes (in scientific fields, 40% since 2000), as well as 36% of general innovation (patents and startups).
These figures may fluctuate depending on the source and the year of reference, but they reflect the significant contribution of immigrants in these key sectors of the economy, education, and American discoveries.
Everything presented clearly indicates the falsehood of the president’s statements not only regarding alleged criminality but also concerning the lack of contribution of Hispanic immigrants to the economy. At the same time, it highlights both Trump’s ignorance and his racism and prejudices against non-white immigrants, as well as his willingness to victimize millions of people for his personal political interests.
I conclude by reminding readers that this is not new, as according to the Washington Post fact-checking, from 2017 to January 20, 2021, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading statements.
[1] 16. Legacy of Donald Trump so far 6/25 Parte I – Blog de Antonio Quesada
