Donald Trump has released a new video linking illegal migration across the U.S.-Mexico border with violent crime and vowing to “secure our borders” and “restore sovereignty” if elected back to the White House in November.
In the one-minute, 21-second production, which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social website, the former president speaks interspersed with video footage of migrants saying what countries they came from and news stories about crime.
On Tuesday, Trump secured a series of primary victories to become the Republicans’ presumptive presidential candidate for 2024. The former president has made cracking down on illegal immigration one of the main planks of his campaign to defeat Democrat Joe Biden in November.
The new video begins with Trump saying: “From all over the world they came.” This is then intersected with migrants saying they had come to the U.S. from China, Angola and Afghanistan.
Trump adds: “Millions of illegal border crossers have entered the country unlawfully. They’re coming by the thousands. Nobody could have fought this and even morally it’s so wrong. We will secure our borders and we will restore sovereignty.”
These words are interspaced with more migrants stating their country of origin and media reports about crime, including assaults on police officers in New York’s Times Square and the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national who authorities believe entered the U.S. illegally, has been charged with Riley’s murder.
CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP/GETTY
In December 2023, U.S. Border Patrol recorded 250,000 encounters with migrants suspected of illegally crossing over the Mexican border. This was the highest figure on record and significantly above the previous peak of 224,000 encounters recorded in May 2022.
However, Border Force suspected illegal migrant encounters fell by roughly half in January to just over 124,000.
A recent survey conducted by Monmouth University found 84 percent of U.S. voters think illegal immigration is either a “serious” or “very serious” issue for the nation, against just 10 percent who believe it is “not too serious” and 5 percent for “not at all serious.”
There are concerns about political instability in Haiti. The president announced he plans to resign on Monday amid a violent crime wave, which has left armed gangs in control of an estimated 80 percent of the country’s capital, could spark a new wave of migration.
Speaking to Newsweek, Thomas Gift, who heads the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, said this would likely damage Biden ahead of November’s presidential election.
Gift said: “Fair or unfair, anything that highlights the immigration crisis is a net negative for Biden at the moment.
“To the extent that the tragedy in Haiti puts a new refugee story in the headlines, it will only make the immigration issue more salient for American voters,” Gift added. “At the same time, Biden’s hands will no doubt be tied by progressive groups who will insist that the White House not repatriate refugees back to Haiti given the huge political instability in the country.”
A White House National Security Council spokesperson told Newsweek: “We are clear-eyed that economic, political, and security instability are key drivers for migrants around the world. We are closely monitoring the situation and the routes frequently used by migrants to reach our borders and at this time, irregular migration flows through the Caribbean remain low.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.