Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (D) dismissed concerns that mass immigration is making American communities more dangerous as a “fake problem,” arguing that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than people born in the U.S.
Murphy made the remarks Wednesday during an appearance at CT Mirror’s “In The Room” event in Connecticut, where immigration enforcement and recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Danbury became major topics of discussion.
Fox News subsequently highlighted Murphy’s comments on X, reporting that the Connecticut Democrat had called concerns about mass immigration putting the US at risk a “fake problem.”
Murphy argued that the Trump administration has incorrectly characterized immigration as a threat to Americans.
“The problem, according to the Trump administration, is a country that has been invaded, a country that is at risk physically because of the presence of people from other countries,” Murphy said. “That is a fake problem. That is not a real problem.”
Murphy then pointed to crime statistics to make his case.
“Immigrants — first-generation immigrants — and undocumented immigrants both commit crimes at rates lower than natural-born Americans,” Murphy told the audience.
The senator went further, arguing that communities with newly arrived immigrants can actually be safer.
“So, if you want to live in a safe community, you are actually better off living in a community with people that just got to the United States of America,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s remarks came amid a surge of ICE activity in Connecticut, particularly in Danbury.
Officials and immigration advocates reported that dozens of people had been detained in the city over several days as the new school year began. Murphy traveled to Danbury Wednesday before appearing at the CT Mirror event.
The senator strongly criticized the enforcement operation, accusing federal authorities of deliberately creating fear within the immigrant community.
“If you can sort of imagine how one would design a system intended to terrorize a community — not intended to keep the community safe — you would design what they’re doing in Danbury right now,” Murphy said.
Murphy also alleged ICE agents had waited near a school bus stop before arresting parents after their children boarded a bus.
DHS has disputed allegations that ICE deliberately targeted parents at school bus stops. The department said in response to one reported incident that an individual was arrested alone and away from a school zone, according to CT Insider.
Murphy’s broader argument about immigrant crime has generated criticism from immigration restriction advocates.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, acknowledged that immigrants can have lower crime rates while arguing that statistical rates do not erase individual crimes committed by people in the country illegally.
Migrants “can in fact lower the crime rate, but it doesn’t help anybody who got killed by illegal aliens,” Krikorian told Breitbart.
The debate over Murphy’s comments comes as the Trump administration continues an aggressive nationwide immigration enforcement campaign.
ICE arrests have risen significantly during Trump’s second term, including in Democratic-led states that have laws restricting cooperation between state authorities and federal immigration officials.
Murphy, meanwhile, argued that the real problem is not immigrants making Americans physically unsafe but an immigration system that many Americans view as operating without clear rules, per Breitbart News.
He pointed to the bipartisan border and immigration legislation he helped negotiate in 2024, arguing that it would have addressed those concerns.
Murphy blamed Trump for helping derail that legislation while Trump was campaigning to return to the White House.
“That’s the problem we should solve,” Murphy said while discussing people who wait years to enter or remain in the country legally compared with migrants who cross the border without a valid claim and can remain for years.
The senator said he spent nearly six months crafting what he described as the most significant bipartisan immigration and border security legislation in a generation.
Murphy’s comments nevertheless drew attention because of his blunt characterization of the Trump administration’s public-safety argument.
Rather than conceding that increased immigration inherently creates greater danger, Murphy argued that available crime-rate data points in the opposite direction.
His declaration that the threat is a “fake problem” now places the Connecticut Democrat squarely in the middle of the continuing national fight over immigration, crime and Trump’s expanded deportation campaign.
