2018 FactCheck: on Immigration


Larry Hogan: Reject Trump policy of separating families at the border

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in the region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

The governor's order covers most of New Mexico's deployed troops, along with Guard members who have traveled from AR, KS, KY, NH, SC, and WI. In all, 118 National Guard troops have been deployed in New Mexico, the governor's office said.

At least five states, including two led by Republicans, rejected the president's call to send troops., with Maryland's Gov. Larry Hogan saying his state wanted nothing to do with the Trump administration policy of separating families at the border.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 Maryland Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Michelle Lujan-Grisham: Withdraw troops from Mexican border: there's no emergency

Gov. Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in th region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

Lujan Grisham ordered the withdrawal just before Trump delivered his State of the Union address, in which he railed against illegal immigration and labeled a group of mainly Central American migrants as "illegal immigrants"--despite the fact that most of them are traveling with legal humanitarian visas.

Lujan Grisham rejected the idea that a national emergency exists along her state's border with Mexico. But she also said some troops will remain in southwestern NM, saying they're needed to fulfill a humanitarian mission.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 New Mexico Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Susana Martinez: Deploy National Guard troops on Mexican border

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered the majority of National Guard troops deployed at her state's Southern border to withdraw, condemning what she called a "charade of border fear-mongering" by President Trump, who has warned of an immigration emergency in the region. "I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the Southern border," Lujan Grisham said, adding that the area has "some of the safest communities in the country."

The governor's order covers most of New Mexico's deployed troops, along with Guard members who have traveled from AR, KS, KY, NH, SC, and WI. In all, 118 National Guard troops have been deployed in New Mexico, the governor's office said.

New Mexico sent National Guard troops to the border last April in an order from then-Gov. Susana Martinez that followed a White House proclamation. At least five states, including two led by Republicans, rejected the president's call to send troops.

Source: NPR Fact-Check on 2018 New Mexico Gubernatorial race Feb 6, 2019

Donald Trump: FactCheck: No, Obama didn't separate families at the border

Among the president's top 10 whoppers of 2018: OBAMA SEPARATED CHILDREN FROM THEIR FAMILIES AT THE BORDER.

"Remember this: President Obama separated children from families," Trump said in November 2018.

This is false. There was no widespread Obama-era policy of separating parents and children. The Obama administration instead opted to detain families together, earning outrage of their own. Advocates said there were a handful of scenarios under the Obama administration where children were separated from their parents because of fears of human trafficking, but reunification was speedy.

The president made this claim as a way to defend his own administration's policy that separated more than 2,600 migrant children from their parents earlier this year--a policy he was forced to end after widespread public outrage and condemnation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Source: NBC Fact Check on 2018 Trump Promises, "10 falsehoods" Dec 20, 2018

Kirstjen Nielsen: FactCheck: Falsely claims no policy of family separation

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen tweeted, "This misreporting by members, press and advocacy groups must stop, It is irresponsible and unproductive. As I have said many times before, if you are seeking asylum for your family, there is no reason to break the law and illegally cross between ports of entry. We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period."

The Huffington Post contrasted Nielsen's comments with the fact that "last week, DHS announced that nearly 2,000 kids had been separated from their parents during a six-week period ending last month. Many of those children are being held in juvenile detention centers."

How can both of these statements be true? Simple: the press is ignoring the MEANING of Nielsen's tweet.

Nielsen says that families who present themselves for asylum at LEGAL border crossing will not be separated. She intends to confuse voters between THAT non-separation policy with the OTHER policy for separating families who cross the border illegally.

Source: OnTheIssues FactCheck on 2018 Trump Administration Jun 18, 2018

Donald Trump: Fact-check: End chain migration? It can't actually happen

[My immigration plan] protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children.

Politico.com Fact-Check: Family reunification has been the basis for immigration since 1965. Under this law, if you marry that guy you met while working in Shanghai, you can bring him home. And his 2-year-old. And when you'd like his parents to help with child care, you can bring them in too, after a few years. If we had a family immigration system without limits, this structure could theoretically lead to the dreaded chain migration. That Chinese spouse can petition for his sister, and her family, and so on. But the immigration system's waiting lists make chain migration a theory that doesn't really happen in practice. This is because each link in the chain takes years to complete. \

Source: Politico.com FactCheck on 2018 State of the Union address Jan 26, 2018

Bruce Rauner: State won't help or impede immigration enforcement

The version Rauner signed is only four pages long, and all of the language on arrests at public or publicly funded facilities has been deleted. It contains two directives for state and local police: Officers cannot detain people without a warrant from a judge and they can't 'stop, arrest, search, detain, or continue to detain a person solely based on an individual's citizenship or immigration status.
Source: BetterGov.org FactCheck on 2018 Illinois gubernatorial race Jul 17, 2017

  • The above quotations are from Fact-checking on 2018 gubernatorial and Senate campaigns.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Immigration.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Immigration.
2020 Presidential contenders on Immigration:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: May 24, 2020