Republicans think they’ve found their election issue with the arrest of an undocumented immigrant for the murder of an Iowa college student. And yes, they are getting ready to be grossly cynical about it: As Newt Gingrich told Axios, “If Mollie Tibbetts is a household name by October, Democrats will be in deep trouble. If we can be blocked by Manafort-Cohen, etc., then GOP could lose [the House] badly.”
Donald Trump predictably ranted about the issue at his Tuesday night rally in West Virginia, as well—and we can expect more of the same from him in the coming months. But to know that this isn’t just pure-hearted concern for a tragically murdered woman all you have to do is look at the headlines and notice that Republicans aren’t trying to make a big issue out of the killing of Shannan Watts, a pregnant woman murdered along with her two children—even with the Violence Against Women Act about to expire. But Watts’ husband, who is not an immigrant, was arrested for that crime, so Republicans aren’t trying to make political hay of it. Go figure.
Mollie Tibbetts’ death is horrific and her killer should be prosecuted. But the claim that immigrants make crime worse is just false: several studies show that immigration does NOT increase crime and even that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes. The only reason Republicans have for choosing this murder to elevate into the public eye over all the other ones that have been committed in recent weeks is to use racist fear to try to win in November.