In a tweet Saturday morning, President Trump incorrectly cited criminal statistics from the state of Texas and federal data on immigration.
"23% of Federal inmates are illegal immigrants. Border arrests are up 240%. In the Great State of Texas, between 2011 & 2018, there were a total of 292,000 crimes by illegal aliens, 539 murders, 32,000 assaults, 3,426 sexual assaults and 3000 weapons charges. Democrats come back!"
Reality check: When Trump says "there were a total of 292,000 crimes by illegal aliens," he's actually citing the number of charges filed against undocumented immigrants. The number of actual convictions is much lower, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Trump is correct, however, in his claim that border arrests are up 240%. The timeframe for that statistic is December 2017 to December 2018, CNN reported this week.
Trump: "23% of Federal inmates are illegal immigrants."
- Truth: According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons — whose data was last updated on November 24, 2018 — 19.3% of federal inmates are citizens of Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, or "other/unknown." The rest (80.7%) are U.S. citizens.
Trump: "[T]here were a total of 292,000 crimes by illegal aliens."
- Truth: According to Texas DPS, there were 292,000 charges, but only 120,000 convictions between June 1, 2011, and December 31, 2018.
Trump: There were "539 murders."
- Truth: Of 539 murder charges, 238 were convicted.
Trump: There were "32,000 assaults."
- Truth: Of 32,443 assault charges, 13,559 were convicted.
Trump: There were "3,426 sexual assaults."
- Truth: Of 3,428 sexual assault charges, 1,689 were convicted.
Trump: There were "3000 weapons charges."
- Truth: Of 2,949 weapons charges, there were 1,280 convictions.
Go deeper: The truth about Trump's border crisis
