Donald Trump's continued attacks on immigrants as criminals divert attention and, critically, resources from the very real threat posed by white supremacists and far right violence. Donald Trump has ridden the xenophobic political tiger into the White House once again, convincing Americans that immigrants in this country are an existential threat to our safety and the wellbeing of the nation. It's a politically effective trope that in practice diverts attention and, critically, resources from the very real threat posed by white supremacists and far right violence. "This is a problem that infects all our society," says Mike German, a former FBI agent who spent years undercover working to expose far right and white supremacist groups operating within law enforcement. "It is not a matter that pops up once in a while. It is a constant problem."
Despite Trump's continued lambasting of migrants as criminals, rapists and thieves"descriptions used to justify his campaign of mass deportations"data show that as a group, immigrants, legal or otherwise, commit far fewer crimes than American born citizens, and in fact may have an overall mitigating effect on crime.
Violence and terrorism committed by adherents of white supremacist and far right ideologies, on the other hand, have been rising steadily over the past decade, surpassing threats posed by Islamist extremists and other ideologically motivated groups, jeopardizing public safety and even the foundations of our democracy.
And, says German, the pervasiveness of white supremacist and far right ideologies within local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the agency he once worked for, makes this threat all the more pernicious.
The starkest example of that threat is the January 6, 2020, attack on the US Capitol.
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