Trump-endorsed Republican candidates are flooding the media with false, fear-mongering accusations against Democrats. Their ads state as fact that “Democrats want open borders,” “criminal immigrants are invading our country, endangering your families, committing crimes, and stealing your jobs,” and “Biden’s ‘reckless spending’ is solely responsible for our inflation.” Let’s look at the facts.

1. The Texas Department of Public Safety found that undocumented immigrants have considerably lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants and there is no evidence that undocumented criminality has become more prevalent in recent years.

2. The Biden administration made more than 2 million immigration arrests and deportations along the southern border during the past 11 months. They also signed an agreement with Mexico expanding joint investments in public health, security, human rights, justice center initiatives, disrupting transnational criminal organizations, drug and human trafficking and upholding the rule of law. This doesn’t indicate “open borders.”

3. Inflation is global, so it can’t just be Biden’s fault. The COVID pandemic’s disruptions to labor markets (made worse by Trump’s denial and slow response), corporate greed, OPEC manipulation of oil supplies, sudden increased demand, disrupted supply chains, and war in Ukraine played large parts. Our economy is now roaring back from the pandemic’s effects and we’re addressing inflation.

We should be terrified right now, but not of immigrants or inflation. We should fear losing our democracy and our hard-earned women’s and voter’s rights to Trump-endorsed candidates across the nation who continue to spread misinformation and fear, destroying confidence in our elections, questioning our own government and showing their willingness to use violence, not votes, to enforce their will on everyone. We must identify and protect our country from Trump-inspired domestic terrorists who strongly resemble authoritarians like Mussolini, not democratic patriots.

Defend truth, liberty, democracy. Vote Blue!