After Miller asserted to the press gaggle that the crime rate in Venezuela is down by "a little bit over 60 percent over the last several years," Nuestra Tele Noticias 24 (NTN24) journalist José María Del Pino asked the former White House immigration adviser a (fairly simple) question.
"Are you trusting the official figures from the Venezuelan dictatorship?" Del Pino asked Miller, as shown in a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Let's put it this way: If you're a dictator of a poor country with a high crime rate, wouldn't you send your criminals to our open border?"
"That wasn't my question," the reporter replied. "Are you trusting the figures of the dictatorship?"
As Miller continued to deflect — at one point sidetracking the conversation to the widespread rumors about Venezuelan gangs taking over Aurora, Colorado — Del Pino once again reiterated his question.
"I am asking you about Caracas and the numbers in Caracas. Are you trusting the numbers of a dictator?" he asked.
That's when Miller lost it.
"I am trusting the fact that Kamala Harris is letting illegal immigrants into this country who are raping and murdering children!" Miller shouted at the reporter.I asked Stephen Miller, one of Donald Trump's top advisors, what is the evidence for saying that Caracas and Venezuela are safer than the United States. He began by answering that it is the government's numbers. I asked him if he trusted Maduro's numbers. And this was his… pic.twitter.com/qkXTNiGmt0
— José María Del Pino (@josemdelpino) September 11, 2024
"Why are you yelling?" Del Pino asked. "I have been very respectful, why are you yelling?"
As Del Pino continued to press Miller for an answer, Miller’s voice grew louder, and his balding head began to visibly glisten with sweat.
"Children are dead, and you are wasting my time!" a shvitzy Miller shouted at Del Pino.
Over the past two decades, polling has consistently shown that most Venezuelans feel unsafe in their country.
Trump has repeatedly made unfounded claims about the crime rates in Venezuela –– specifically its capital city of Caracas, which has long been known for its high crime rates.
Estimates from the Homicide Monitor place the murder rate in Caracas among the highest in the world.
But while it appears crime may be trending down in Venezuela, experts have said this has nothing to do with "sending criminals to the U.S," according to PolitiFact and FactCheck.org.
The FBI also acknowledged that although some Venezuelan criminals have migrated to the U.S., there is no evidence to support Miller's claim that they were purposefully released from prison to come here.
Because the Venezuelan government doesn't publish reliable data, it's hard to pin down crime statistics in Venezuela. It's reportedly been roughly a decade since the country's government last published its numbers on murders or robberies.
