Donald Trump is heading to El Paso, Texas today to pull yet another political stunt. To justify his ineffective, unnecessary and unwanted border wall, Trump will lie about crime in El Paso. Here’s the truth:
Trump will lie about crime in El Paso and the effects of a border wall. He already has:
Washington Post: “Trump is wrong about crime in El Paso”
FactCheck.org: “Trump Wrong About Wall Effect in El Paso”
PolitiFact: “No, border barrier did not drive down crime in El Paso, Texas”
The truth is that El Paso was never considered one of the most dangerous cities. Violent crime was at historic lows before a border fence was built, and actually ticked up after its completion.
PolitiFact: “To start, El Paso has not been considered one of the nation’s most dangerous cities. Its violent crime rate has been significantly below the national average compared to cities of similar size.”
NBC News: “Violent crime has been dropping in El Paso since its modern-day peak in 1993 and was at historic lows before a fence was authorized by Congress in 2006. Violent crime actually ticked up during the border fence’s construction and after its completion, according to police data collected by the FBI.”
El Paso’s Republican mayor said Trump was “not factually correct,” and El Paso’s sheriff said Trump was using “falsehoods” to justify his border wall.
NBC News: “‘I believe he was given some misinformation,’ Margo told CNN in an interview, adding the idea that El Paso was a lawless and dangerous place before fencing was built is ‘not factually correct.’”
NBC News: “The city’s sheriff, Richard Wiles, a Democrat, disputed Trump’s characterization as ‘falsehoods’ used to ‘justify the building of a 2,000 mile wall.’ ‘The facts are clear. While it is true that El Paso is one of the safest cities in the nation, it has never been … ‘ ‘considered one of our nation’s most dangerous cities,’ ’ Wiles said in a statement provided to NBC News. ‘And, El Paso was a safe city long before any wall was built. President Trump continues to give a false narrative about a great city that truly represents what this great nation is all about.’”