Samuel Martin - Trump’s Baseless Claim About Prayer Rugs Found at the Border

Trump’s Baseless Claim About Prayer Rugs Found at the Border

Summary
President Trump revived an old rumor that alleges that Islamic migrants are entering the United States through the US-Mexico border. This rumor is backed up by accounts of deserted Qurans as well as prayer rugs. Cultural significance suggests that practicing Muslims wouldn't throw their prayer rugs and other cultural garb onto the dirt ground, while only one picture has been taken of an alleged "prayer rug" that was left at the border in Mexico. This picture was examined by scholars and religious experts and the "prayer rug" is most likely an Adidas jersey. Trump is trying to create a constant reminder of past terrorists that have entered the country by provoking the immigration debate, but also is trying to build a stronger case for his supposed border wall.

Analysis
This article was written on January 18th, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. This means that the reporter is in between Washington, where the tweets are coming from, and the border, where the denials of the rumors are being defended. I didn't know much about this at all before I read the article, but it makes a lot of sense that Trump would use this as part of his case for the wall, this far into the government shutdown. This can be related to the time in history when President James Buchanan decided that the Mormons were in rebellion against the United States. Without and reasonable proof, Buchanan still spread this rumor and even sent troops to Utah in hopes of dissembling the Mormon church. This article was written for everybody in the US who votes on immigration policies because we need to realize that not all immigrants come from Mexico. The author, Linda Qiu has been fact-checking government rumors, statements, and policies for the NY Times for 4 years in a row, so she knows what to look for in unreasonable statements. This article was written to inform the public that immigrants come from everywhere and that the president is using false rumors to advance his immigration policies. This is important because everyone in the US is effected in many ways by the immigrants we allow into the country.

Source
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/18/us/politics/fact-check-trump-prayer-rugs-border.html