Reporters found no evidence to support Donald Trump’s claim that immigrant prisoners from “Congo” would be released to America. Analysts say the repetition of exaggerated claims about immigrants at rallies could indicate the former president felt the need to intensify his rhetoric because of improvements at the border. Illegal entries are lower today than when Donald Trump left office, with border crossings for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. down 98% over the last two years.

Trump’s claims about immigrants from “Congo”

During several rallies, Donald Trump claimed that prisoners from “Congo” had been released in the United States to attack Americans. Reporters found no evidence to support this claim and concluded that the former president or his team made up the story.

At an event with Tucker Carlson on October 31, 2024, Trump said“Prisons from all over the world are being emptied in our country, all over the world, in Congo in Africa, not just in South America, they are opening their prisons and bringing them to our country.”

On October 6, 2024, at Juneau, WisconsinTrump told a more complex story. “And they come from Congo, from Congo in Africa,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but a lot of people are coming from Congo and you know where they come from, from the prisons in Congo. They come from prisons in Congo.

He added to the story by claiming that dictators around the world “dumped” criminals into the United States and told detainees, “Don’t come back, and if you come back, we’ll kill you.” » He shouted: “We’re going to bring them back and we’re going to push them to the bottom of the gorge!”

Reporters conclude that Trump’s stories about immigrants are false

At least three media outlets have examined Trump’s claims that dictators were dumping prisoners from around the world, including “the Congo,” into the United States and found no evidence to support the claims. Government statistics support the journalists: the Democratic Republic of Congo does not appear in the list of top 20 source countries for monthly Border Patrol data.

In an article for ReutersJournalists Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson examined Trump’s statements on the release of Congolese prisoners in 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 that their loved ones waiting in camps in Africa will not be able to join them if Donald Trump is elected and cuts refugee admissions again. A study by the National Foundation for American Policy found that refugees are the most vetted individuals among all foreign-born immigrants in the United States.

World Relief organized a letter to 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 other 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 are unaware of any efforts by other countries to empty their prisons and psychiatric facilities, a claim Trump appears to have invented,” according to Kessler. “Officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Republic of Congo have denied to CNN any efforts to send prisoners to the United States. »

CNN has warned since March 2024 that Trump’s “Congo” story was false. “Trump’s claims are baseless,” Daniel Dale wrote. “Experts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, as well as pro-immigration and anti-immigration organizations in the United States, told CNN they have seen no evidence that Congolese prisons are emptied. The Trump presidential campaign and allied super PAC have not responded to requests for evidence.” Government officials in both countries have called on Trump to stop making such claims. The Republic of Congo’s ambassador to the United States told CNN: “There is no truth, no sign or no fact that supports such a claim or statement.” »

Falling number of immigrants pushes border information off front pages

The significant improvement in the number of borders may have pushed Donald Trump to intensify his rhetoric on immigration. In September 2024, border patrols on 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 from July 2024.

Trump promises to hire 10,000 more Border Patrol agents and spend significantly more on enforcement. A PANF analysis found that government spending on immigration control over the years has proven ineffective in reducing illegal immigration. Other factors are most likely to affect illegal border crossings, such as economic conditions and the availability of legal avenues, including work visas.

In addition to repeating his claims that prisoners from “Congo” and elsewhere would come to America, Trump claimed he would liberate every “city and town that has been invaded and conquered” by migrants. “It’s absurd; no American city has been conquered by migrants,” noted Dale from CNN. During the presidential debate in September, Trump claimed that Haitians eat animals of their neighbors. He also said in several states, migrants have prevented residents from shopping, entering hospitals and allowing children to go to school.

Donald Trump must believe that he is not paying any political price for his false statements about immigrants, particularly about African prisoners who were allegedly dumped into the country to harm Americans.