Trump says crime is rising and blames immigrants. The data contradicts this

During Tuesday's debate, former President Trump repeated the claim that crime is “extremely high” and that much of it is due to immigrants. Data suggests both claims are false.

Asked about his proposal for the “largest deportation operation” in the country's history, which would deport millions of undocumented people from the United States, Trump said the number was over 11 million because Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration had “allowed criminals, many, many millions of criminals, terrorists and common street criminals to come into our country, drug dealers.”

He said crime had declined in other countries because “they took their criminals off the streets and handed them over to her to bring them to our country.”

Trump claimed that “crime has gone down all over the world – all over the world, except here. Here, despite their fraudulent claims, crime has gone up and through the roof.” In the US, he said, crime has “gone through the roof” and taken on a “new form” as “migrant crime.”

When ABC anchor David Muir pointed out that FBI data showed a decline in crime, Trump called it a “fraud.”

When asked to respond, Harris said Trump's claims were “so bold” coming from “someone who has been charged with crimes against national security, economic crimes, election interference, found guilty of sexual assault, and whose next big court date is in November when he is sentenced.”

Harris said it was time to “turn over a new chapter.”

Crime and public safety were at the center of the presidential campaign, with each candidate claiming a strong record on these issues while simultaneously attacking their opponent's record.

Harris presents herself as an astute prosecutor who, throughout her career – including as district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California – has dealt with sex offenders, unscrupulous corporations and banks, and transnational gangs.

She has also presented herself in the past as a “progressive prosecutor” who has supported various criminal justice reform measures – including putting body cameras on police officers – and strong federal oversight of local police departments. She has also touted huge investments in local law enforcement under the Biden administration, including through COVID-19 relief funds.

Harris has portrayed Trump as the type of criminal she has prosecuted in the past. She has also criticized his promise to pardon insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol and its police officers on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn President Biden's election in Trump's favor.

Trump presented himself as a strong ally of law enforcement and as someone who would give police officers – and immigration officials – the power to more aggressively pursue criminals on the streets.

He called for a return to old police tactics that had raised constitutional concerns in the past, such as stop-and-frisk and broken windows policies. He suggested that police should not be “too nice” when arresting suspects and rejected the need for federal oversight of police departments.

Trump has portrayed Harris as a “pro-crime” progressive whose policies have historically been lenient toward criminals and allowed them to commit crimes again. He has also portrayed her as a proponent of “defunding” the police, citing in part comments Harris made in 2020 about the need to rethink public safety and redirect some of the funding for law enforcement to other priorities such as education, health care and jobs in at-risk communities.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when Trump was president, violent crime rates across the country skyrocketed, but have since dropped sharply. Studies have shown for years that immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated for crimes than U.S.-born citizens.

Both Trump and Harris have touted their support from law enforcement. Trump last week received the endorsement of the National Fraternal Order of Police, which has more than 375,000 members nationwide. Harris released a list of 100 current and former police officers who support her.