What did Donald Trump claim about immigration on 15 Oct 2026?
Donald Trump, President of the United States ·
Uh, they opened the prisons from as far away as, uh, Africa, different places in Africa, but the Congo in particular, all of their prisoners were brought into our southern border under Biden and released. The prisons of Congo were emptied into our country.
Congo's prisons were not emptied. A March 2025 UN report said overcrowding in them remained severe, and the State Department put central prisons at about 200 percent of capacity in 2023.
A UN Secretary-General report dated March 20, 2025 said 4,709 inmates escaped in the Jan. 27, 2025 prison break at Muzenze prison in Goma, one of the breaks that freed 7,208 prisoners from prisons in North and South Kivu. It added that 'prison overcrowding remained severe' (UN Security Council, S/2025/176, report on MONUSCO). The State Department's report covering 2023 said central prisons ran at an estimated 200 percent of capacity, some above 500 percent.
Claim vs. the record · Immigration
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The claim
- Date
- Where
- Virtual tele-rally for Iowa Republican candidates.
The record
Primary source (agency statement)