J.D. Vance referenced the movie Gangs of New York on Friday while falsely claiming that migrants are turning cities into lawless hellscapes.
Republican lawmakers and their media arm have long claimed that illegal immigrants come to the country to commit crimes rather than work. Statistics, however, show that migrants are less likely to commit crimes than American citizens.
Of course, that did not stop Vance from slamming the people coming over the border, the VP candidate said during a Friday event in Milwaukee. "Has anybody ever seen the movie Gangs of New York? That’s what I’m talking about. We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates."
Vance continued:
"We cannot take the entire world into this country. And I think that we’re at a stage right now where we have to say, we’ve got to slow those illegal immigration levels to zero. We do have to deport some people who have come here illegally. And I think that will promote assimilation and a common American culture that’s in the best interest of everybody. Look, I’m married to the daughter of South Asian immigrants. One of the reasons why I think that we have such a wonderful and successful marriage is because we both very much feel like America is our home, like our children belong here. What happens when you have massive amounts of illegal immigration? It actually starts to create ethnic conflict. It creates higher crime rates. We’ve certainly seen that over the last few years. And I would like to stop it. And I know Donald Trump would too."