Trump Distorts Immigration Crime Statistics to Attack Vice President Harris

Former President Donald Trump has come under fire for inaccurately interpreting recent immigration and crime statistics to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris. In social media posts on Friday and Saturday, Trump claimed that nearly 14,000 convicted murderers entered the United States during Harris’s tenure as “border czar.” However, the statistics he cited do not exclusively pertain to individuals who entered the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration. Instead, they encompass noncitizens who entered the country over several decades, including during Trump’s own presidency.

Trump’s posts escalated his rhetoric, alleging that Harris “allowed almost 14,000 MURDERERS to freely and openly roam our Country,” suggesting that these individuals pose an immediate threat. However, his claims misrepresent the context and scope of the statistics. According to a letter from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), there were 425,431 total convicted criminals on the non-detained docket as of July 21, 2024, with 13,099 individuals holding homicide convictions. These figures include individuals from multiple administrations, not just those during Harris’s time in office.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security clarified that the data spans decades and includes individuals who entered the U.S. over the past 40 years or more, with many having been in custody long before the current administration. The statistics also indicate that a significant number of those on the non-detained docket are still incarcerated due to their criminal convictions, not living freely.

John Sandweg, a former acting director of ICE, emphasized that it is “100% false” to assert that all homicide offenders on the non-detained docket entered the U.S. during Harris’s vice presidency. He noted that many individuals on the list have been in the U.S. for decades and cannot be deported due to their countries’ refusal to accept them.

Critics of Harris, including Trump and various Republican lawmakers, have mischaracterized her role in managing immigration policy. Harris has never held the formal title of “border czar,” yet the rhetoric surrounding her position has intensified in light of these statistics.

Historically, the non-detained docket has included hundreds of thousands of individuals with criminal convictions under previous administrations. Data shows that there were 368,574 convicted criminals on the non-detained docket in August 2016, prior to Trump’s presidency, and the number grew to 405,786 in early June 2021, shortly after Biden took office. The most recent figure of 425,431 reflects a continued trend of growth.

While it is true that the total number of people on the non-detained docket has surged under the Biden-Harris administration, Trump’s criticism appears to stem from a misleading interpretation of the statistics rather than an accurate portrayal of immigration policy impacts.