Debunking MAGA Assaults on Immigrants

The MAGA attacks on immigration aren't about defending "legal immigration," but about advancing white supremacy

What more must Donald Trump do to make clear his anti-immigration stance is focused on one thing and one thing only—advancing white supremacy—and how much longer will legacy media remain complicit? Donald Trump’s campaign in general, and against immigrants in particular, is rooted in and fueled by white supremacy. And the receipts make this point irrefutable. Let’s Address This.

Donald Trump, an anti-immigrant racist, appears on CNN

You may have seen the Trump campaign’s latest racist anti-immigrant tweet. It compares two neighborhoods—one allegedly under his administration and the other under Kamala Harris. The imagery suggested that Black people, when not under his control, are inherently disorderly and dangerous, while communities otherwise are patriotic. This isn’t just a dog whistle; it’s a foghorn of white supremacy designed to incite fear and hatred.

And this isn’t an isolated incident either. It’s the latest in Trump’s lifelong hatred of non-white immigrants, a view he’s successfully weaponized to rally a racist base. And this racism played out loud and clear in Trump’s Twitter spaces exchange with Musk. They painted immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, as criminals and a threat to the country—a narrative that is not only false but deeply hypocritical. Here are at least four absurd claims made by Trump and Musk we need to debunk.

Claim 1: Immigrants increase crime

Fact: False. In reality, immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, have lower crime rates than native-born U.S. citizens. This has been consistently documented over not just decades, but over centuries. A Northwestern University study looked at data going back to 1870 and found:

Using incarceration rates as a proxy for crime, a team of economists analyzed 150 years of U.S. Census data and found immigrants were consistently less likely to be incarcerated than people born in the U.S. They also found beginning in 1960, the incarceration gap widened such that immigrants today are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than the U.S.-born. “Our study shows that since 1870, it has never been the case that immigrants as a group have been more incarcerated than the U.S.-born,” Jácome said.

In reality, the more immigrants you have in your neighborhood, the statistically lower the crime rate is in your neighborhood. Yet, Trump and his allies perpetuate the myth that immigrants are inherently criminal, feeding into a narrative of xenophobia and racism that has long been a cornerstone of his political strategy.

Claim 2: Undocumented immigrants are, by definition, criminals

Fact: False. In reality, the rhetoric that undocumented immigrants are "criminals" simply by virtue of being undocumented is misleading and disingenuous. Crossing the border without proper documentation is a civil violation, not a criminal one. It’s comparable to receiving a parking ticket or speeding ticket—a misdemeanor, not a felony. Moreover, the process to apply for asylum—which is a legal act protected by U.S. and international law—necessarily requires crossing the border without documentation before applying. Asylum is legal immigration, and undocumented immigration is not a criminal act. Yet, Trump’s campaign ignores these facts to instead paint a picture of chaos and danger, exploiting the fears of those who may not know better.

Claim 3: Undocumented immigrants pour drugs into America

Fact: False. In reality, the data is truly staggering at how much drugs are a U.S. citizen problem for which immigrants are being unfairly maligned, and how U.S. policies to restrict documented immigration has exacerbated the drug crisis. Brookings reports that:

• Annually about 88% of drug trafficking is conducted by U.S. citizens, not by immigrants.

• Out of those arrested by Border Patrol for illegal crossings, only 0.02% were found with any fentanyl. In other words, 99.98% of fentanyl discovered was at ports of entry and the vast majority of traffickers are U.S. citizens.

• Annual deaths from fentanyl doubled between 2019 and 2021—after the U.S. government banned asylum, a policy that did nothing to actually curb the real sources of the problem.

The real solution to America’s drug crisis lies in addressing the true sources of the problem, not in vilifying those who are least responsible for it. That means focusing on comprehensive drug policy reform, smarter border management that targets actual traffickers, and a more humane immigration system that reflects the values of justice and fairness. But as Trump’s hypocrisy grows, he’s opposed the very legislation designed to help advance meaningful border management.

Claim 4: Immigrants drain the economy

Fact: False. In reality, countless studies quantify the immense economic benefit immigrants, including undocumented immigrants, contribute to the U.S. economy. Far from “taking Black jobs,” as Trump claims, immigrants ignite the economy and decrease overall unemployment. And while I can cite numerous studies, I’ll opt to cite one by the George W. Bush Institute, lest someone accuse me of cherry picking a left leaning organization. The Bush study concludes:

Immigration fuels the economy. When immigrants enter the labor force, they increase the productive capacity of the economy and raise GDP. Their incomes rise, but so do those of natives. It’s a phenomenon dubbed the “immigration surplus,” and it amounts to $36 to $72 billion per year.

But what about undocumented immigrants? Surely they’re a drain on the American system, right? Nope. The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (“ITEP”) reports a shocking fact that no sane person could argue is bad for the economy. ITEP concludes:

Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Most of that amount, $59.4 billion, was paid to the federal government while the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments.

For perspective, undocumented immigrants pay more in taxes than the entire GDP of at least 10 U.S. states. These are taxes they pay towards our Medicare, Medicaid, and social service programs, for which they receive no benefit whatsoever. That’s also more in taxes annually than Musk or Trump will ever pay in a lifetime. And thus the hypocrisy of it all.

Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy

Even beyond the misinformation, I scratched my head as I heard Trump and Musk’s hypocrisy on immigration. The mind numbing idea that Donald Trump, a convicted felon, is fear-mongering about immigrant crime rates while embodying the very criminality he claims to detest. No thought given to the fact that two of Trump’s wives are immigrants, including Melania who—by Trump’s own definition—was an illegal immigrant herself.

Likewise, Elon Musk is himself an immigrant. And while not a convicted felon like Trump, Musk is also credibly accused of violating campaign finance laws in Michigan, and is credibly accused of violating campaign finance laws in donating to Trump’s campaign. But perhaps even worse, there is credible evidence that at one point Elon Musk was also an undocumented immigrant himself, an “illegal” by his own admission. You can watch the short clip below from 2013, where Musk’s brother admits they were both “illegal immigrants.”

By his own admission, Musk was an “illegal immigrant” illegally sleeping at the office (i.e. homeless) and didn’t even have a car (i.e. low income). Yet now Musk seems to have a short term memory as he proudly paints the caricature of all immigrants, particularly undocumented immigrants, as here illegally and an economic burden on society.

Finally, far from proposing a meaningful solution, Trump has actively sabotaged efforts to create a functional immigration system. He deliberately killed a bipartisan immigration bill that could have addressed many of the issues he claims to care about. Trump isn’t interested in solutions. His goal is to keep the immigration issue alive as a political weapon, using it to rally his base and deepen divisions within the country. It’s not about policy; it’s about power.

In Conclusion

The media’s role in this situation is crucial. For too long, legacy media outlets have been reluctant to call out Trump’s white supremacy for what it is. When a politician uses race and ethnicity as weapons to divide and conquer, it’s not just politics as usual; it’s an existential threat to the very fabric of our society.

The media must step up. They need to stop treating Trump’s rhetoric as merely controversial or provocative and start labeling it for what it is: white supremacist propaganda. This is not about partisanship; it’s about truth. Legacy media must stop being complicit in Trump’s blatant white supremacy. They have a duty to inform the public, to expose lies, and to hold those in power accountable for their words and actions. Trump’s campaign is not just another political movement; it’s a calculated attempt to sow discord and inflame racial tensions for political gain.

Only by confronting this white supremacy head-on can we hope to build a more just and equitable society. Otherwise, we risk devolving into fascism, and legacy media will be complicit in its own demise.

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