Sheriffs Spread Trump’s “Migration Crime” Message Based on Scant Evidence

Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Richard Jones is one of America’s most outspoken sheriffs when it comes to illegal immigration and crime, echoing themes pushed by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential campaign as the Republican tries to retake the White House.

Jones has been sheriff for two decades in Republican Butler County, Ohio, where Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, was born and raised. Usually wearing a cowboy hat and a bushy white mustache, he regularly appears on conservative news outlets criticizing Democrats’ border policies.

Jones said crimes committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally burden local taxpayers with millions of dollars in costs related to arrest, incarceration and trial. But he admits a fundamental fact obscured by bombastic rhetoric: There is no evidence that immigrants in his county commit crimes at a higher rate than native-born Americans.

“They are not committing anything higher,” he said in an interview. “It’s just an extra group that shouldn’t be here.”

Numerous studies have shown that immigrants do not commit crimes more often than native-born Americans.

Trump has put what he calls “migration crime” at the forefront of his campaign as he tries to defeat Democrat Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election. The former president often cites cases of women and girls allegedly killed by immigrants in the country illegally, and he has adopted even darker rhetoric in recent weeks.

Trump’s message was amplified by sheriffs and other local law enforcement officials across the country, including some who showed up at his campaign events, giving credence to his claims.

Reuters contacted 12 sheriffs who expressed concerns about migrants and crime, including sheriffs in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Idaho and Maryland. But no one has said they are experiencing a migrant-fueled crime wave, or can provide evidence of its existence.

Still, Trump escalated the allegations in the final stages of the campaign, spreading false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating human pets and portraying Aurora, Colorado, as overrun by Venezuelan gangs, which city officials deny.

“And remember when they say no, no, these are migrants, and these migrants don’t commit crimes like we do,” Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin in September. “No, no, they make our criminals look like children. They are cold-blooded killers. They will come into your kitchen and slit your throat.”

American voters believe immigration is the most important domestic issue the new president should address in his first 100 days in office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this month. The message that immigrants in the U.S. illegally pose a threat has resonated with GOP voters and some independent groups that Trump hopes will carry him back to the White House.

About 76% of Republicans said immigrants in the U.S. illegally pose a threat to public safety, while only 15% of Democrats took that position, the Reuters poll found. Independents were divided, with 41% agreeing and 49% disagreeing.

Frank Luntz, a veteran pollster, said Trump has an opportunity to tap into Americans’ concerns about illegal immigration, but could turn off wavering voters with vitriolic anti-immigrant comments.

“He goes too far to please people on his right,” Luntz said.

The Trump and Harris campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to a request for data on immigrants in the U.S. illegally and crime.

NO SIGNS OF CRIME WAVE

Many sheriffs are elected and their jurisdiction usually covers counties, including rural areas, while cities often have their own police departments.

Jeffrey Gahler, sheriff of Harford County in Maryland, north of Baltimore, handled two high-profile murders involving undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in 2023: the murder of mother-of-five Rachel Morin allegedly by a man from El Salvador and the 2022 murder of Kayla Hamilton. by a gang member, also from El Salvador.

Gahler, a Republican who plans to vote for Trump, said stronger border security policies could prevent such crimes, even if they are isolated incidents.

“When you put all these anecdotal cases from across the country together, there’s a problem,” he said.

Gahler said the federal government’s ability to deport violating immigrants is an important tool he believes could be used against U.S. citizens outside his county.

“I would prefer to deport them back to Baltimore, but that is not in my power,” he said.

Daniel Abbott, sheriff of Van Buren County in Michigan, said at an April event with Trump that migrants were committing “heinous crimes” in his area. But Abbott, like other sheriffs, provided no statistical evidence to show the extent of crimes committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

County records obtained by Reuters through a public records request do not show the immigration status of those arrested.

Van Buren, a rural county in southwestern Michigan, has attracted Mexican farmers for decades. Several supporters said workers were more likely to be victims of crime, including exploitation by employers.

INCREASED COSTS

Some sheriffs have complained about the increased costs associated with illegal immigration. Jones, the Butler County sheriff, said 1,000 immigrants were held illegally in U.S. county jails between 2021 and 2023, at a cost of $4 million. The sheriff’s office did not respond to a request for the total number of people detained at that time and the total costs.

The police department in the small town of Whitewater, Wisconsin, saw a 112% increase in tickets issued for driving without a license from 2021 to 2023, which Chief Daniel Meyer said limits the ability to collect fees for other traffic offenses. Meyer also mentioned the increased cost of translation services by several thousand dollars.

While pro-Trump sheriffs focused on illegal immigration, some local law enforcement leaders had trouble refuting false rumors.

In the small town of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, Police Chief Keith Carpenter said his officers were inundated with calls in September after a photo of people walking near a bus in that town went viral on X.com as purported evidence of a migrant busing program.

In a telephone interview, Carpenter said the criminal allegations were unfounded and that the group appeared to be going to a local Mexican restaurant.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis)