President Trump claimed Monday that just 2 percent of illegal immigrants who enter the US show up for court hearings on their status — and suggested that those who do play by the rules were dopes for doing so.
“Those people you almost don’t want because they cannot be very smart. Those 2 percent are not going to Make America Great Again, I tell ya,” the president told the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th annual convention in New Orleans.
Justice Department data from the past five years shows that between 60 to 75 percent of migrants showed up for their immigration court hearings.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that once illegal immigrants are released in the US — a policy he calls “catch and release” — they blend into American society and ditch court.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request about the disparity between the president’s and the government’s numbers.



