Written by Gary Bauer of American Values
Trump Was Wrong And Right
Donald Trump’s remarks about illegal immigrants and crime clearly hit a nerve and may explain why he is enjoying a bump in the polls right now. The problem with what he said was that his torturous choice of words made it sound like most Hispanics are criminals. That is ludicrous and offensive. But his overall demand that America secure its border is absolutely right.
Now the country has been shocked by the horrible murder in the sanctuary city of San Francisco committed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. That he was able to get back in the U.S. so many times proves just how porous our border is.
Not surprisingly, there’s no shortage of politicians running for cover. Others insist that we shouldn’t draw conclusions based on one incident. Unfortunately, it’s not just one incident.
According to an analysis of government data, there are nearly 350,000 convicted criminal immigrants running around the country.
Here’s more: According to data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, illegal immigrants accounted for nearly 37% of all federal convictions in 2014, including “16.8 percent of drug trafficking cases, 20.0 percent of kidnapping/hostage taking, 74.1 percent of drug possession, 12.3 percent of money laundering, and 12.0 percent of murder convictions.” Yet illegal immigrants reportedly make up only 3.5% of the population.
Much has been made of the slogan “Black lives matter.” Indeed they should. But why wasn’t there more outrage about the brutal murder of Jamiel Shaw? Jamiel’s mother, Army Sgt. Anita Shaw, is angry and frustrated with current immigration policy and thinks more people should consider Donald Trump’s larger point.
Picture is of Gary Bauer
