3 Big Lies about Migrants
By Goldsea Staff | 13 Oct, 2025

These falsehoods about the impact migrants have on American society may have tipped the 2024 presidential election in Trump's favor.

The image most aggressively pushed by Trump into the American media during the last presidential campaign was of migrants committing violent crimes against Americans.  The patent falsity of the notion that migrants contribute to rising crime rates (their violent crime rates are about half that of native-born Americans) didn't keep these images from having an outsize impact on the election outcome.  

(Image by ChatGPT)

Another misconception Trump successfully exploited was the notion that migrants take jobs away from Americans.  The reality that migrant labor actually is key to creating more and better-paying jobs for native-born Americans by boosting business activity and economic growth wasn't successfully presented to counter this Trumpian disinformation, making economically insecure Americans among the most numerous of Trump supporters.  

(Image by Gemini)

Another key piece of disinformation promoted aggressively was that migrants consume health and social services that consume tax dollars that burden American taxpayers.  The reality is actually the converse: migrants consume few public services while contributing billions of tax dollars directly and indirectly by supporting economic activity.

Migrant reality (left) and fear mongering (right) by the Trump campaign. (Image by Copilot)

The success with which Trump turned these and other misconceptions (dogs being eaten by Haitian immigrants, for example) into a pillar of his MAGA movement led to today's mass deportations of migrants — one of the most economically and socially destructive policies of Trump's presidency.

It's not too late to try to minimize damage to our economic growth and prosperity — as well as to America's priceless image as a welcoming haven for hardworking people from around the world  — by setting the record straight.  So we elicited fact-based analysis from our AI researchers with the prompt:

What are the 3 biggest MAGA misconceptions about migrants?

ChatGPT:

Here are three of the biggest misconceptions commonly held within MAGA circles about migrants, along with clarifications based on data and research:

1. “Migrants are flooding the border unchecked and taking over U.S. communities.”

Misconception:
MAGA rhetoric often portrays the southern border as “open” and overrun, suggesting that millions of migrants enter freely and settle without oversight.

Reality:

• The U.S. does not have an open border. Migrants who cross without authorization are typically apprehended, processed, and either expelled, detained, or placed in legal proceedings.

• The high number of encounters reported by Border Patrol reflects repeated attempts by the same individuals, not unique entries.

• More than half of recent arrivals seek asylum, a lawful process under both U.S. and international law.

• Large-scale, unmanaged “takeovers” of communities are a political exaggeration; migrants still make up a small share of the total U.S. population growth.

2. “Migrants are a drain on the U.S. economy and welfare system.”

Misconception:
MAGA narratives often claim that migrants burden taxpayers by taking welfare benefits and jobs from Americans.

Reality:

• Most undocumented migrants are ineligible for federal benefits such as SNAP, Medicaid, and Social Security.

• Migrants, including undocumented workers, pay billions in taxes annually—around $12 billion in state and local taxes according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

• Economists broadly agree that immigration boosts long-term GDP, helps fill critical labor shortages, and slows inflation by expanding the labor supply.

• Migrants are overrepresented in essential sectors such as agriculture, construction, elder care, and hospitality—fields many native-born workers avoid.

3. “Migrants cause more crime.”

Misconception:
A persistent MAGA belief holds that undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes or are responsible for rising crime rates.

Reality:

• Multiple studies (including from Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank) show immigrants—both legal and undocumented—commit crimes at lower rates than U.S.-born citizens.

• States with higher immigrant populations often have lower violent crime rates.

• The “migrant crime wave” narrative is largely fueled by isolated, sensationalized cases amplified by social media and political rhetoric rather than by data trends.

**

Gemini:

Based on common rhetoric associated with the MAGA movement regarding migrants, here are three widely cited misconceptions, along with factual counterpoints:

1. Misconception: Migrants cause an increase in violent crime.

   • Fact: Numerous studies have found that immigrants, regardless of legal status, have crime rates equal to or lower than native-born citizens.1 Some research, for instance, has shown that undocumented immigrants have a significantly lower criminal conviction rate than native-born residents.2

2. Misconception: Migrants are taking American jobs and hurting the economy.

   • Fact: Most economists generally agree that immigrants do not reduce overall employment for native-born workers.3 Immigrants often fill labor shortages (particularly in sectors like agriculture, construction, and healthcare) or start new businesses, which in turn creates jobs and boosts economic activity.4

3. Misconception: Undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes and are a drain on government benefits.

   • Fact: Undocumented immigrants are generally ineligible for most federal public benefit programs but collectively pay billions of dollars annually in federal, state, and local taxes, including sales taxes, property taxes (directly or indirectly through rent), and income/payroll taxes.5 In fact, their payments into the Social Security system are often cited as helping the program's financial standing, as they rarely draw benefits from it.6