By Luis De Jesus
Sep 28, 2024, 11:55 PM EDT
The United States Department of Homeland Security clarified this Saturday that former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump’s statements about immigrants with criminal records were misinterpreted.
Trump’s comments are based on a letter posted by Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales on the social network X, which attributed information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to the DHS spokesperson, the data in the letter includes records spanning several decades and reflects the oversight of individuals who entered the United States over the past 40 years, many of whom were already processed by previous administrations.
“The data in this letter is being misinterpreted,” the spokesperson said.
He also emphasized that a large part of the cases are under the jurisdiction of federal, state or local law enforcement agencies.
The letter cited by Trump indicated that ICE supervises 662,566 “noncitizens with criminal records,” a figure that the former president used to reinforce his rhetoric against irregular immigration during a rally in Wisconsin.
However, DHS stressed that these numbers have been taken out of context and do not reflect the reality of current immigration oversight.
Mogul Elon Musk also amplified this data by sharing a Fox News segment on
The agency also clarified that many of these individuals are detained or under the supervision of other agencies.
During his rally in Prairie du Chien, Donald Trump used the data to stoke fears about irregular migration: he accused Democrats, and in particular his rival Kamala Harris, of allowing “criminals” to enter the country.
“Yesterday we finally saw the numbers, although the fake media turns off the cameras when I say it,” said the Republican, who dismissed studies that show that crime among migrants is lower than in the general population.
Trump also promised to take drastic measures if he returns to the White House:
“I will liberate Wisconsin from this massive migrant invasion of murderers, rapists, thugs, drug dealers and evil gang members. “We are going to liberate our country,” he assured a crowd.
In contrast to Trump’s claims, official data shows that since January 2021, under the Joe Biden administration, the United States has deported 180,000 people with criminal convictions, and in the last 12 months more than 700,000 individuals were turned away or deported , marking the highest figure since 2010.
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