Trump Claims German Crime Is Way Up To Defend Child Separation Policy. It's Not.
President Donald Trump, once again defending his policy of separating migrant children from their parents when they cross the border illegally, pointed a finger at Germany as a horrible example of what happens without strict anti-immigration enforcement. Crime in Germany is “way up,” he claimed on Monday.
But it’s not.
Trump’s child separation policy has received much pushback from both liberals and conservatives, leading the president to his tweet tirade.
“Children are being used by some of the worst criminals on earth as a means to enter our country,” he tweeted in a stream of messages.
Children are being used by some of the worst criminals on earth as a means to enter our country. Has anyone been looking at the Crime taking place south of the border. It is historic, with some countries the most dangerous places in the world. Not going to happen in the U.S.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2018
Trump pointed to Germany as an example of the kind of “mistake” he does not want to make. He cited Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy toward migrants and refugees and noted that other members of Germany’s ruling coalition are trying to overturn it.
“Crime in Germany is way up,” Trump claimed, suggesting that immigrants are “violently” changing the country’s culture.
The people of Germany are turning against their leadership as migration is rocking the already tenuous Berlin coalition. Crime in Germany is way up. Big mistake made all over Europe in allowing millions of people in who have so strongly and violently changed their culture!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2018
We don’t want what is happening with immigration in Europe to happen with us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2018
Except that crime isn’t up in Germany, despite the influx of immigrants. Just last month, the country recorded the lowest absolute number of criminal offenses since 1992.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer noted that the crime rate is the lowest in more than 30 years.
At roughly 5.76 million, the number of criminal offenses committed in Germany is the lowest since 1992,” Seehofer said. “This drop in crime is even more apparent in relation to the total population: fewer than 7,000 offenses per 100,000 residents. That is the lowest rate in more than 30 years!
The crime statistics, released by the Interior Ministry, also indicate that the number of non-German suspects is falling even faster than the number of German suspects.
Despite this, Seehofer is leading the charge against Merkel’s policy and seeks to refuse entry to many migrants. The influx of migrants and refugees has been blamed for the rise in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany, now the main opposition party in the nation’s Parliament.
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