https://www.axios.com/2025/01/28/trump-immigrants-criminals-white-house-briefing
In a White House briefing on January 28, 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration once again falsely portrayed undocumented immigrants as criminals, despite the fact that immigration violations, such as unauthorized entry or overstaying a visa, are civil offenses—not criminal acts. By conflating civil violations with criminal behavior, Trump seeks to mislead the public into viewing all undocumented immigrants as dangerous, even though data consistently shows that immigrants, including those without legal status, commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. This rhetoric is part of a broader effort to stoke fear and justify harsh immigration policies, despite the reality that immigrants with actual criminal convictions represent an extremely small fraction of the undocumented population. Critics argue that Trump’s misleading claims are designed to advance a political agenda rather than address the complexities of immigration.