Former President Donald Trump caused controversy once again on Monday by claiming that illegal immigrants are bringing “bad genes” into the United States.
The comments were made during a radio interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt and have drawn criticism for their inflammatory nature.
Trump made the remarks while criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris, his opponent in the upcoming presidential election, referencing government figures that 13,000 immigrants with homicide convictions were not being detained by federal immigration authorities.
“How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers, many of them murdered far more than one person? They are now happily living in the United States,” Trump stated, adding, “A murderer — I believe this — it’s in their genes. We’ve got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.”
Trump’s claims appear to misrepresent data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The figures he cited include individuals who were not detained in ICE facilities and span several decades, including years during Trump’s own presidency.
Critics quickly condemned his remarks, with conservative commentator Richard Hanania calling out Trump’s misleading figures while still agreeing with his stance on the genetic link to crime. Hanania emphasized the low crime rates among immigrants, urging Trump to reconsider his rhetoric.
Trump’s focus on immigration has been central to his campaign, where he frequently portrays migrants as a threat to public safety. In a recent rally, he accused Vice President Harris of failing to address immigration issues and made false claims about immigrants, including a debunked story about Haitian residents in Ohio.
This isn’t the first time Trump has faced backlash over comments about immigrants. In December, he was criticized for accusing migrants of “poisoning the blood of our country,” a statement compared to Adolf Hitler’s rhetoric. Despite the uproar, Trump remains competitive in the polls ahead of the November election.
