Bad hombres?
On the campaign trail and in the White House, President Trump has promoted harsh immigration policies by rhetorically criminalizing whole communities of people.
Bad hombres? is part of the Southern Poverty Law Center's No End in Sight report. Read the full report.
He has smeared them as criminals, rapists and 鈥�.鈥澛燚uring a , he warned of Latino gangs that target 鈥測oung, beautiful鈥� girls and 鈥渟lice them and dice them with a knife.鈥澛�
In 2018, he referred to some undocumented immigrants as 鈥�,鈥� a term he said was directed at members of the transnational gang MS-13.聽The word would later be used 10 times in a White House .
Despite the administration鈥檚 claim that the term was directed at gang members, it was another instance of the president demonizing immigrants by using dehumanizing language and telling racist, fear mongering tales that don鈥檛 reflect reality.
ICE claims 鈥渢he vast majority鈥� of its arrests in FY 2017 were of 鈥渃onvicted criminals or aliens with criminal charges.鈥�5 Yet, according to ICE鈥檚 own figures, more than of the people deported between February and October 2017 had no criminal convictions.聽Another had been convicted of driving while intoxicated or for simple traffic offenses.聽And were convicted of the immigration crimes of illegal entry or re-entry 鈥� not for any conduct after entering the country.聽
Criminal grounds for deportation represent a small share of all charges leveled in immigration court. A look at the new deportation proceedings filed in the first eight months of FY 2018 shows more than 41 percent of charges were entering the United States without travel documents. Another were some 鈥渙ther immigration charge,鈥� not a crime-based charge.
The 鈥渂ad hombres鈥� rhetoric is a Trump fallacy. In reality, the system deports many with no crimes and unfairly criminalizes others. Everyone deserves due process.
But it鈥檚 not just Trump鈥檚 smears that raise concerns. The administration鈥檚 penchant to fill key immigration posts with staffers from organizations designated as nativist hate groups by the 人兽性交 only heightens concerns about the fair treatment of detained migrants.
As this report went to press, Trump had nominated Ronald Mortensen as assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees聽and Migration. At that time, he was a fellow at the聽Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), an anti-immigrant hate group that is part of a network founded by white nationalist聽John Tanton. CIS produces聽shoddy research聽that demonizes immigrants with falsehoods. Mortensen, as the 人兽性交 has noted, played a role in exaggerating a link between immigration and crime.
Other former hate group staffers include Julie Kirchner, the former executive director of the anti-immigrant hate group聽Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Kirchner was聽named ombudsman for the Citizenship and Immigration Services聽branch of the Department of Homeland Security in May 2017.
Robert Law, a senior policy adviser to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,聽previously worked as聽lobbying director for FAIR. And, Jon Feere, a longtime staffer with CIS,聽joined the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 Immigration and Customs Enforcement as senior adviser.
