Former President Donald Trump told rallygoers in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday that the country is a “garbage can” for immigrants and refugees.
“They unleashed an army of migrant gangs waging a campaign of violence,” the former reality television star said at the rally, which took place in a state that is 31.6% Latino.
With language playing on fears and biases, a tactic since the first day of his 2016 presidential campaign, he escalated the dehumanizing rhetoric on Thursday in the battleground state of Arizona by calling the U.S. a “dumping ground” for refugees seeking asylum, particularly those from poorer nations.
“We’re like a garbage can for the world,” he said, adding that this is the first time he’s made those remarks.
“You got millions of people pouring in,” Trump added, despite the fact that illegal border crossings have been declining. “And we are just not going to let it all happen.”
He also reiterated several campaign themes, according to NBC News, including attacking the competence of his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming Harris for the flow of immigrants, committing to end the designation of sanctuary cities and claiming he will add 10,000 more Border Patrol agents.
Trump’s remarks come after a CNN town-hall-style event on Wednesday in which Harris took aim at Trump’s 2016 promise to build a giant wall along the length of the border with Mexico to quell immigration.
“I think what he did and how he did it did not make much sense because he actually didn’t do much of anything,” Harris said.