Socially conservative politicians and commentators have been quick to jump on the tragic Mollie Tibbetts story to support their anti-immigration agenda. Now many critics are hitting back.

First, the basic facts, via the New York Times: "A body believed to be Ms. Tibbetts’s was found buried beneath cornstalks on a farm outside [Brooklyn, Iowa]. The authorities charged Cristhian Rivera, who they said is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, with first-degree murder in her death."

The president and a number of right-leaning politicos and commentators cited the arrest of Mr. Rivera as proof of a flawed immigration system and lax border security.

“Mollie Tibbetts, an incredible young woman, is now permanently separated from her family,” tweeted Mr. Trump. “A person came in from Mexico illegally and killed her. We need the wall, we need our immigration laws changed, we need our border laws changed, we need Republicans to do it because the Democrats aren’t going to do it.”

Civil libertarians and opponents of the administration have criticized such comments as bigoted and misleading. They point out that according to a number of sources, such as the right-leaning CATO Institute, crime rates among illegals are actually relatively low.

The following meme seen on social media of late seems to summarize the view of the critics: "What happened to Mollie Tibbetts is horrible but saying this happened because of undocumented immigrants is stupid."

 

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