Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's first general election TV ad claims rival Democrat Hillary Clinton supports allowing immigrants with criminal records to stay in the U.S.
According to Politifact, Trump's claim was rated as "half truth."
The ad's voiceover says, "In Hillary Clinton's America, the system stays rigged against Americans. Syrian refugees flood in. Illegal immigrants convicted of crimes get to stay. Collecting Social Security benefits, skipping the line. Our border open."
Clinton has called for deporting violent criminals, and calls them "a relatively small universe," according to Politifact. Her focus is to "stop the raids, stop the round-ups, stop the deporting of people who are living here doing their lives, doing their jobs."
Clinton posted an article on her website stating her position on immigration reform. The article said she aims to "treat every person with dignity, uphold the rule of law, protect our borders and national security, and bring millions of hardworking people into the formal economy."
Adding that, "Immigration enforcement must be humane, targeted, and effective. Hillary will focus resources on detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety, and ensure refugees who seek asylum in the U.S. have a fair chance to tell their stories."
Immigration expert Alex Nowrasteh said that Clinton favors legalization for undocumented immigrants, but not for those who have committed violent crimes. "Many, but not all, unlawful immigrants committed criminal offenses, but they are usually not violent or property crimes. Instead, those were crimes in the immigration statutes," Nowrasteh said.
Politifact notes little information exists on how quickly criminal immigrants would be removed under a Clinton presidency.
"She has promised to expand upon Obama's immigration policies," said Federation for American Immigration Reform spokesman David Ray.
Clinton has not been specific about the types of crimes that would or would not lead to an immigrant being deported, according to Politifact.
The Washington Post reports Trump commented on deporting illegal immigrants and said he would enforce laws that already exist, but "perhaps with a lot more energy."
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