First off, let me be clear, by criticizing and responding to Trump’s speech I am in no way endorsing Clinton for presidency. I’m only analyzing Trump’s claims during his acceptance speech.

I enjoyed the video of Trump’s history, and especially appreciated Ivanka’s eloquent and sophisticated vision of her father. But, these pleasantries in no way outweighed the disappointment I felt towards Trump’s speech. It was riddled with inaccuracies and exaggerations. Granted, Trump supposedly released his speech along with his 282 foot notes, but after searching the internet for the rumored citations I could find nothing. The transcript was easily found on several different news websites within a minute of searching. Considering this was the Republican Nomination Acceptance speech, the misleading direction of Trump’s speech left me disappointed. I think the bar should have been set higher.If I’m expected to trust the Republican nominee with an entire nation, then I believe it is a fair trade for me to view his sources

Therefore, in the words of Donald Trump, “I will present the facts plainly and honestly.”

1. Murder Rates are Low

• Trump claimed that due to the Obama Administration’s “Rollback of criminal enforcement”, murders have increased in America’s largest cities. Trump is not entirely incorrect; there have been higher murder rates in 50 of America’s largest cities, however he doesn’t tell the whole story. Trump wants to cast a shadow over the Obama administration, and in his quest to do so has failed to mention overall murder and non-negligent manslaughter rates in America are at an all-time low.

• If the Obama Administration was responsible for murder rates within our country then they should have risen in 2009, Obama’s first year. However, except for a spike in 2012, murder/ non-negligent manslaughter has decreased.

• Trump’s words towards this particular topic are centered around the fear and frustration towards recent tragedies. We feel as if the system is rigged, that justice isn’t on our side. But, if we look at statistics, we are able to see improvement. The murder rates in America are not where they should be, and ideally there wouldn’t be any. However, for Trump to mislead citizens by only sharing part of the data is, in my opinion, irresponsible.

2. Illegal Mexican Immigration is Down

• The Republican Nominee also said “The number of new illegal immigrant families who have crossed the border so far this year already exceeds the entire total from 2015. They are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.” Ironically, the figures tell a different story.

• In 2014, “more non-Mexicans than Mexicans were apprehended at U.S. borders…[and] the decline in apprehensions reflects the decrease in number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants coming to the U.S.” Another interesting fact, in 2013, “deportations of Mexican immigrants reached a record high”. From 2009, the first year of the Obama Administration, to 2014, there was a migration of 140,000 immigrants returning to Mexico.

• What does this mean exactly? Well, one of the major platforms of Trump’s campaign is declaring the necessity for building a wall separating Mexico from America. He said in his running for President speech back in 2015, “When Mexico sends its people…they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us…They’re bringing crime…because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening”. Considering the statistics about the decrease in murder/ non-negligent manslaughter, and the decrease of Mexican illegal immigrants within our borders, it appears safe to claim Trump is wrong. He relies on fear to persuade voters, when the reality of our situation isn’t as dire as Trump would have us believe.

3. Closing Borders Won't Save Us from

Terrorism

• Mr. Trump also touched on international issues, such as Clinton’s call for an increase for Syrian refugees, and explaining the importance of shutting down immigration from “any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such a time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place”. Such statements are far too general to realistically be put into practice. Think about it: Trump doesn’t describe a specific region. So, where should we draw the line? France? Belgium? Are they off limits? They are both first world countries who experienced terrorism.

• France’s immigration policy is far stricter than other European countries. If other first world countries with strict immigration policies have terrorists, then we need to find a different solution than what Trump is proposing. The issue of terrorism cannot be fixed by shutting down our borders to countries which have been “compromised by terrorism” because these attacks are not down entirely by immigrants.

• Sami Amimour, one of the three shooters who collectively killed 89 people at the Bataclan concert hall during the Paris attack in November 2015, was a French citizen. He joined ISIS after being brainwashed by other recruiters within his own community and finding propaganda online.

• Security from terrorism cannot be stabilized by only thinking of physical solutions, such as closing immigration. We live in a cyber influenced world where data from across continents is ours with a tap of a finger. Issues are complicated and intricate. The end all solution cannot be to bomb out ISIS, as Trump says we should. Anger and frustration will not be our allies in the fight against terrorism. The only way we can secure peace and stability is through keeping a clear head and patience. In the words of Donald Trump himself, anyone “who does not grasp this danger is not fit to lead our country.”