State of the Union: Trump says a wall in Texas city El Paso made it safer, despite crime increasing
'Simply put, walls work and walls save lives,' US president says without providing evidence
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has tried to convince lawmakers of the need for a US-Mexico border wall by making an entirely false claim about levels of crime in a Texan city.
Addressing members of Congress in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening, the US president wrongly claimed El Paso, which sits on the border with Mexico, had been transformed since the installation of a “powerful barrier”.
“The border city of El Paso, Texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime — one of the highest in the entire country, and considered one of our nation's most dangerous cities,” Mr Trump said.
“Now, immediately upon its building, with a powerful barrier in place, El Paso is one of the safest cities in our country.
“Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let's work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”
In fact, El Paso has never been one of the most dangerous cities in the US and already had one of the lowest crime rates among the country’s large urban areas before construction of a 57-mile border fence began in 2008.
Its violent crime rate was also lower in each of the three years before the fence was built than in each of the three years after it was finished, according to the Annenberg Public Policy Centre’s fact-checking website.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments