Journalists have found no evidence to support Donald Trump’s assertion that immigrant prisoners from “the Congo” are being released into America. Analysts say repeating over-the-top claims about immigrants at rallies may indicate the former president has felt the need to escalate his rhetoric due to improvements at the border. Illegal entry is lower today than when Donald Trump left office, with border encounters for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans falling by 98% over the last two years.
Trump’s Claims About Immigrants From “The Congo”
At several rallies, Donald Trump has claimed that prisoners from “the Congo” have been released into the United States to prey on Americans. Journalists have found no evidence to support the claim and have concluded the former president or his staff invented the story.
At an event with Tucker Carlson on October 31, 2024, Trump said, “Prisons from all over the world are being emptied out into our country, all over the world, the Congo in Africa, not just South America, they’re opening up their prisons, and they’re bringing them into our country.”
On October 6, 2024, in Juneau, Wisconsin, Trump told a more involved story. “And they come from the Congo, the Congo in Africa,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but large numbers of people are coming in from the Congo and you know where they’re coming from, the jails of the Congo. They’re coming from the jails of the Congo.”
He added to the story by claiming dictators around the world have “dumped” criminals into the United States and told the inmates, “Don’t come back, and if you do come back we’re going to kill you.” He shouted, “We’re going to be bringing them back and we’re going to shove them right down their throats!”
Journalists Have Concluded Trump’s Stories About Immigrants Are False
At least three media outlets have examined Trump’s claims about dictators dumping prisoners in the United States from around the world, including “the Congo,” and found no evidence to back up these assertions. Government statistics support the journalists: The Democratic Republic of the Congo does not appear in the Border Patrol’s list of top 20 source nations in the monthly encounters data.
In an article for Reuters, reporters Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson looked at Trump’s statements about Congolese prisoners being released into the United States and wrote, “There is no evidence for this claim.” They visited a Congolese community in Wisconsin and reported that recent refugees fear their relatives waiting in camps in Africa will be unable to join them if Donald Trump is elected and again slashes refugee admissions. A National Foundation for American Policy study found refugees are the most vetted individuals of any foreign-born entrants to the United States.
World Relief organized a letter to the presidential candidates signed by evangelical Christian pastors and leaders from all 50 states. It read, in part: “Regardless of the outcome of this or any election, American evangelicals remain committed to the biblical call to love our neighbors—including our immigrant neighbors.”
Washington Post Fact Checker editor Glenn Kessler also found no support for Trump’s claims. “Immigration experts know of no effort by other countries to empty their prisons and mental institutions, a claim Trump appears to have invented,” according to Kessler. “Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo and the neighboring Republic of Congo have denied to CNN that there is any effort to send prisoners to the United States.”
CNN has warned since March 2024 that Trump’s story about “the Congo” is untrue. “Trump’s claims are baseless,” wrote Daniel Dale. “Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo, plus both pro-immigration and anti-immigration organizations in the U.S., told CNN they have not seen any evidence of Congolese prisons being emptied. Trump’s presidential campaign and an allied super PAC did not respond to requests to provide any evidence.” Government officials in both countries asked Trump to stop making the claims. The Republic of Congo’s ambassador to the U.S. told CNN: “There is no truth or any sign nor a single fact supporting such a claim or statement.”
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump debates Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris … [+]
Drop In Immigrants Pushes Border News Off The Front Pages
The significant improvement in border numbers may have pushed Donald Trump to escalate his immigration rhetoric. In September 2024, Border Patrol encounters at the Southwest border fell to 53,858, well below the 75,316 encounters in January 2021 when Trump was president. Encounters remained below the 60,000 level each month starting in July 2024.
Trump promises to add 10,000 more Border Patrol agents and spend much more on enforcement. An NFAP analysis found that government spending on immigration enforcement over the years has been ineffective in reducing illegal immigration. Other factors are most likely to affect illegal border crossings, such as economic conditions and the availability of legal pathways, including work visas.
In addition to repeating claims about prisoners from “the Congo” and elsewhere coming into America, Trump has asserted he would liberate every “city and town that has been invaded and conquered” by migrants. “This is nonsense; no U.S. town has been conquered by migrants,” noted CNN’s Dale. During the presidential debate in September, Trump claimed Haitians were eating the pets of their neighbors. He also has asserted in several states that migrants have prevented residents from buying groceries, entering hospitals and allowing children to attend school.
Donald Trump must believe he pays no political price for making false claims about immigrants, including about prisoners from Africa allegedly being dumped into the country to harm Americans.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
