Sadly, the November 1, 2020 ‘National Day of Remembrance for Americans Killed by Illegal Aliens’ — declared by President Trump a few days before the election — seems to be a PR ploy. Perhaps, a clumsy one.
Sadly, when you consider the meaning of the word — ‘ploy’ — in dictionaries… “something that is done or said in order to get an advantage, often dishonestly.”
And sadly, as well, considering a National Day of Remembrance that has not, yet — and likely will not — be declared by the nation’s current President. More about this in a moment.
But first, some perspectives on Americans being killed by illegal aliens, reported in a Reuters article… the claim that “Illegal immigrants killed 10,150 Americans in 2018.”
According to Reuters:
There is no nationwide data on crimes committed specifically by ‘illegal immigrants’… FBI records show that in the year 2018 the total number of murders and nonnegligent manslaughters in the U.S. was 16,214… Therefore, for the claimed data to be true, 62% of the homicides of that year would have been committed by ‘illegal immigrants.’
According to the Pew Research Center, ‘unauthorized immigrants only represent around 3.2% of the U.S. population… While there is no official record that specifically tracks crimes committed by ‘illegal immigrants’ in the US, the closest available data available from ICE and the FBI show the claimed number of homicides committed by ‘illegal immigrants’ is, by any imaginable means, exaggerated.
And this, reported by CNBC:
In his efforts to draw support for tougher immigration policies, President Donald Trump has repeated a shocking claim from activists: that 63,000 Americans have been killed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks by people who came to the US illegally.
But that statistic, which Trump has claimed is a conservative estimate, appears to be based on a flawed reading of government data from a 2011 study by the Government Accountability Office… The GAO report does not say, at any point, how many homicides were committed each year by undocumented immigrants.
With this in mind, let’s go back to a National Day of Remembrance that has not, yet — and probably will not — be declared by the Trump White House. A National Day of Remembrance for the 234,354 people in America – as of Sunday, November 1 – who no longer are with us because of the coronavirus.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.