Fact Checking Donald Trump’s Immigration Speech

Tonight, Donald Trump repeated his false claim that Hillary Clinton supports “open borders.” Unfortunately for Trump, his attempt to mislead voters has been debunked multiple times.

LIE:

Donald Trump: “President Obama and Hillary Clinton have engaged in gross dereliction of duty by surrendering the safety of the American people to open borders, and you know it better than anybody right here in Arizona.” [Trump Immigration Speech in Phoenix, Arizona, 8/31/16]

Donald Trump: Hillary Clinton “has pledged…create totally open borders in the United States.” “TRUMP: ‘She has pledged to grant mass amnesty and in her first 100 days, end virtually all immigration enforcement, and thus create totally open borders in the United States.’” [Associated Press, 6/22/16]

THE TRUTH:

PolitiFact rated the claim that “Hillary Clinton is for open borders” as “False.” ”Giuliani said, ‘Hillary Clinton is for open borders.’ Clinton supported a 2013 bill that would have invested billions in border security in addition to a path to citizenship. As a presidential candidate she has called for securing the border and targeting deportation to criminals and those who pose security threats. While her plan would make it easier for many undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation, that’s not the same as allowing a free-for-all at the border and ending enforcement. We rate this claim False.” [PolitiFact, 7/18/16]

PolitiFact said Donald Trump’s claim that Hillary Clinton’s immigration plan would “create totally open borders” was “a huge distortion” and gave the claim a rating of “False.” “Trump said Clinton’s immigration platform would ‘create totally open borders.’ This is a huge distortion of Clinton’s proposals. Clinton has praised work already done to secure the border, and she said she supported a 2013 bill that would have invested billions more in border security while creating a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants. Her plan calls for protecting the border and targeting deportation to criminals and security threats. Her plan would make it easier for many undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation, but that’s not the same as ending all enforcement. We rate this claim False.” [PolitiFact, 6/23/16]

FactCheck.org called claims Hillary Clinton supports “open borders” wrong.”  “Giuliani and Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, both wrongly claimed that Hillary Clinton supports ‘open borders.’ As we wrote when Trump himself made a similar claim, Clinton supported a Senate immigration bill that would have created a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, but it also would have included large investments in border security. […] On her campaign website, Clinton says she would ‘focus resources on detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety.’ But the site also states that she will ‘uphold the rule of law’ and ‘protect our borders and national security.’ […] At a campaign stop in November, Clinton was even more explicit. ‘We need to secure our borders, I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children,’ Clinton said in New Hampshire in November. ‘We can do more to secure our border and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.’ That’s far short of advocating for open borders.”  [FactCheck.org, 7/19/16]

CNN’s Reality Check called it false that Hillary Clinton advocated for open borders. “‘Hillary Clinton is promising more of the same. Open borders, executive amnesty and the surge of Syrian refugees,’ said Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the Homeland Security Commission. Clinton’s platform on immigration incorporates a pathway to citizenship and enforcing immigration laws, including deporting people who ‘pose a violent threat to public safety.’ Clinton said in November that the US needs ‘to secure our borders. I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children.’ She also said in March that the US has ‘done a really good job securing the border.’ Clinton’s proposed policies and past rhetoric do not reflect open borders. That’s false.” [CNN, 7/18/16]

Hillary Clinton: “We need to secure our borders….We can do more to secure our border, and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.” ”During this campaign, Clinton has called for addressing immigration laws including a path to citizenship within her first 100 days. But she has also called for protecting borders and deporting criminals or those who pose threats. ‘We need to secure our borders. I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children,’ she said in November. ‘We can do more to secure our border, and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.’ This is pretty consistent with her view as a New York senator and secretary of state.” [PolitiFact, 7/18/16]

Associated Press: “It’s not true that Clinton’s plan would create open borders.” “THE FACTS: It’s not true that Clinton’s plan would create open borders. Her plan does call for a pathway to citizenship that would allow people currently in the country illegally to stay, but only after going through a series of steps to become a citizen. On enforcement, Clinton has called for focusing on ‘detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety,’ but not ending enforcement outright.” [Associated Press, 6/22/16]