Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said Monday it's “important to counter the narrative” that there is an “immigrant crime wave,” despite recent high-profile murders committed by illegal immigrants that have garnered widespread public attention.

Illegal immigration has become a key issue in the 2024 presidential election after a series of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, including the murders of Rachel Morin, Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nangaray, brought public attention to the issue. Murphy argued that statistics prove immigrants do not commit crimes as frequently as American citizens. (RELATED: 'This is the result': Democratic sheriff says 'porous border' is to blame for 'preventable' murder of mother of five)

“We don't need to be swayed by the irrational fear that Trump is trying to make people feel. It's important that we resist this idea of ​​an immigrant crime wave,” Murphy told MSNBC host Chris Jansing. “We don't need to accept that as the dominant narrative. Why? Because the data actually shows that immigrants to this country commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born Americans. That's a bad narrative for Fox News and the Trump campaign, but it's true.”

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“I think it's a moral imperative as well as a political imperative to push back against the notion that living in a immigrant neighborhood puts you at risk,” Murphy said, arguing that crime has fallen under President Joe Biden since gun control laws were passed.

Morin and Nungaray's mother spoke at a Trump campaign event Thursday highlighting Trump's stance on border security. The suspects in the murders of Morin, Riley and Nungaray have been identified as illegal immigrants who were released into the country under the Biden administration.

“And we need to tell people that crime went up when Donald Trump was president, and he did nothing to stop it,” Murphy argued. “Crime is going down under Joe Biden, and he's done something to stop it. He passed the most significant gun violence prevention bill in a generation. So, again, we have a true story.”

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol has encountered just under 7.3 million illegal immigrants since the start of fiscal year 2021. Reported.

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