Trump says the U.S. is ‘like a garbage can for the world’ as he dials up immigration rhetoric

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday the U.S. is “like a garbage can” for the rest of the world because of its border policies during an immigration-focused rally in Tempe, Arizona, less than two weeks out from Election Day.

“They unleashed an army of migrant gangs waging a campaign of violence,” said Trump, who regularly uses dehumanizing language when he talks about undocumented immigrants. “We’re a dumping ground. We’re like a garbage can for the world.”

Immigration has been a major focus for Trump throughout the campaign, when he has highlighted stories about undocumented immigrants’ committing crimes and blamed them for a surge in violence. 

Border crossings are at the lowest levels since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. In September, Border Patrol agents made fewer than 54,000 apprehensions of immigrants trying to cross the U.S., the fewest since August 2020, when Trump was still in the White House.

In battleground Arizona on Thursday, Trump also repeated his promise to end sanctuary cities, his call for the death penalty if an undocumented immigrant kills a U.S. citizen, his plan to ask Congress for 10,000 new border patrol agents and his pledge to resurrect his so-called Stay in Mexico policy, which required migrants to remain in Mexico while they awaited asylum hearings. Biden’s administration ended the policy.

“You got millions of people pouring in,” Trump said. “And we are just not going to let it all happen.”

Trump also continued to escalated his rhetoric against Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he has increasingly referred to as “stupid” as he has turned focus to her intellect.

“And in yet another incoherent train wreck of a television interview yesterday, Kamala Harris states, once again, that she opposes any plan to send her illegal aliens back home,” Trump said. “She’s a low IQ individual.”

During a CNN town hall in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Harris responded to a question about immigration by saying that Trump “didn’t do much of anything” and that she wants to allow for legal immigration, but “people have to earn it.”

When she was pressed, she also reiterated her support for a bipartisan measure that includes $650 million for a border wall, which she had previously criticized.

“We need a president who is grounded in common sense and practical outcomes,” she said. “Like, let’s just fix this thing.”

Arizona is among a handful of swing states expected to ultimately determine the race. Early in-person voting began this month in the state, which has drawn visits from both Trump and Harris.

Recent public polling has found Trump with a slight advantage in the state, but within the margin of error.