Fact Check: Have You Heard?

Picture from Pixabay

It is a sad fact that in an age of ample communication, so many sources of information cannot be trusted.  As a teacher (currently retired) I had to adapt a special course first developed by Notre Dame to alert my students to be wary of false information, to examine all sources as to motivation and agenda and not to react to trigger words but to respond responsibly with ample research. Maybe everyone needs such a course to find their way through the current maze of misinformation.  At the very least, we should pause and think before taking in blatant statements.  As we live near the border here are some statements about immigrants that need to be evaluated.

Illegal Substances are brought across the border by immigrants. 

Actually, the Cato Institute’s study found that 90% of traffickers come through legal ports of entry.  86% of Fentanyl smugglers were American Citizens.

Immigrants are Terrorists.

In almost 50 years no Citizen on American soil has been killed by someone who entered the country illegally.  Terrorists use the legal system which is poorly staffed, or they are home-grown.

Immigrants are stealing American Jobs.

The unemployment rate has been below 4% for 2 years despite the influx of immigrants.  There are plenty of jobs for Americans who want to work. Americans refuse to take the jobs which immigrants are willing to do.

Immigrants are responsible for rising crime rates.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety data, immigrants have lower rates of involvement with crime than do native born citizens.  Homicide has fallen 13% since 2022 despite the influx of migrants. All crime reported by New Nation and according to FBI Datalytics has seen the largest decrease on record in the last two years.

President Biden does not want to secure the Border.

The fact is that he has tried to get enough funding to provide adequate judicial personnel and facilities to deal with the influx of asylum seekers.  Currently he asked for 14.5 billion for the border –as much as asked for Israel. Every attempt has been stimmed.  The facts seem to indicate that too many Americans hate strangers as a matter of political policy.

By Teresita Scully

I am a member of the SaddleBrooke Fellowship for Social Justice which meets via Zoom for mutual support and assistance in sorting out truth. We have all been to the border numerous times and have had personal involvement with migrants. The above comments are based upon both personal interactions and research. For information contact FellowshipForSJ@outlook.com