WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is continuing to paint immigrants as criminals.
He’s highlighting gang connections, calling family reunification a national security threat and tweeting that it’s “disgraceful” a pro football player was killed in a car accident involving a man living in the country illegally.
It’s part of a pressure campaign by the president to try to get Democrats to sign onto his immigration overhaul plan. He’s even threatening another federal government shutdown if they don’t agree.
But critics say the president is overstating the risk, noting that immigrants commit fewer crimes, on average, than natural-born citizens.