### Trump’s Remarks on "Bad Genes" of Criminal Immigrants Stir Controversy

In a recent radio interview on Monday, former President Donald Trump made inflammatory comments suggesting that individuals in the country illegally, who have committed serious crimes, possess "bad genes." This statement adds to a pattern of rhetoric that critics argue dehumanizes immigrants and frames them in racially negative terms.

During the interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump criticized Vice President Kamala Harris's handling of border security. He accused her of allowing an influx of immigrants through what he described as an open border policy, and erroneously claimed that 13,000 of these individuals were murderers. Trump's assertion significantly distorts the data released by the federal government. "A murderer, I believe this, it's in their genes," Trump stated. "And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now. They had 425,000 people come into our country that shouldn't be here, that are criminals."

Trump’s rhetoric focuses on data disseminated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month, which was presented to Congress. He and his allies argue that President Joe Biden's administration has allowed over 13,000 undocumented immigrants with homicide convictions to remain free. However, the data includes convictions dating back several decades, encompassing periods long before Biden's presidency, and comprises criminals who might be detained outside ICE's immediate jurisdiction.

Following the interview, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt clarified that Trump was "clearly referring to murderers, not migrants."

Trump's rhetoric targeting undocumented immigrants has drawn backlash since his initial presidential campaign in 2015. His latest remarks further escalate the vilification of immigrants. Trump has previously made controversial statements, such as claiming that undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country" and suggesting the removal of legal immigrants, including Haitian individuals in Springfield, Ohio. Alongside his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Trump has propagated false claims about immigrants, such as asserting they are consuming pets in the Ohio town.

Trump's comment about "bad genes" introduces an argument that immigrants are inherently inferior and contribute to societal ills like violent crime, an idea he has touched upon before. In 2020, at a rally in predominantly White Minnesota, he complimented the crowd by highlighting their "good genes" and promoted the "racehorse theory," which states that superior traits are inherited. He told the crowd, "You have good genes, you know that, right? You have good genes. A lot of it is about the genes, isn't it? Don't you believe that?"

In response to Trump's rhetoric, both Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden have rebuked his statements. They specifically condemned his assertion that undocumented immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of the nation, likening it to the ideology found in Adolf Hitler's manifesto "Mein Kampf."

Trump has attempted to distance himself from these associations, declaring last year that he is "not a student of Hitler." Nonetheless, during a campaign event for Biden in South Carolina, Harris brought attention to Trump’s "poisoning the blood" remark, accusing him of "stoking the fires of hate and bigotry and racism and xenophobia for his own power and political gain."