--- title: GOP Links Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policy description: The RNC's second night was filled with dark images of crimes committed by undocumented migrants, who academics say are less likely to commit them canonical: https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-17T03:15:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:46.836Z article:section: Politics og:title: GOP Links Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policy og:description: The RNC's second night was filled with dark images of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, who academics say are less likely to commit them og:url: https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2938b3144fddea5/698a58d8d07533115ae70fde/GettyImages-2162341041.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: 2024 Republican National Convention: Day 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GOP Links Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policy twitter:description: The RNC's second night was filled with dark images of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, who academics say are less likely to commit them twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2938b3144fddea5/698a58d8d07533115ae70fde/GettyImages-2162341041.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republicans Link Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policies on RNC's Second Night > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=00bbdd2a-8db2-4db8-8669-8884bc37b3b4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=00bbdd2a-8db2-4db8-8669-8884bc37b3b4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=00bbdd2a-8db2-4db8-8669-8884bc37b3b4&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Once Trump’s Fiercest Rival, Nikki Haley Makes the Case for Republicans Uniting Behind Him [Watch (HLS stream): Once Trump’s Fiercest Rival, Nikki Haley Makes the Case for Republicans Uniting Behind Him](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8PVCxqus.m3u8) (3:55)  _Published 2024-07-17. A few months ago, Nikki Haley was one of Donald Trump’s fiercest opponents. The two candidates engaged in public spats and name-calling as they campaigned for the Republican nomination. But on the second night of the Republican National Convention, Haley set aside their past conflicts and formally endorsed her ex-boss and onetime rival for the general election._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 17, 2024 3:15 AM UTC  Anne Fundner blames Biden border policies for her son's death from a fentanyl overdose at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee. Anne Fundner blames Biden border policies for her son's death from a fentanyl overdose at the Republican National Convention on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Jul 17, 2024 3:15 AM UTC Donald Trump made illegal immigration an animating principle of his first run for President, riding down the Trump Tower escalator in 2015 to claim the U.S. had become a “dumping ground” and Mexico was sending “rapists” across the border. Nearly a decade later, dark images of undocumented immigrants invading the country, killing U.S. citizens and trafficking illegal drugs permeated the second night of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday in Milwaukee. As Trump looked on from his red-and-white box across from the stage, speakers blamed Democrats and President Biden for countless violent crimes committed by migrants in the country illegally, and drew cheers from the delegates in the convention hall as they promised Trump would reverse the trend. “We are suffering an invasion, not figuratively, a literal invasion,” Senator Ted Cruz of Texas told the crowd, adding that every day, “Americans are dying murdered, assaulted, raped by illegal immigrants that the Democrats have released,” and blaming Democrats for children being “sold into a life of sex slavery.” “This is evil and it is wrong and it is happening every damn day,” Cruz said, prompting the crowd to join him in chanting a refrain of “every damn day,” as he described the deaths of people allegedly killed by undocumented immigrants who had been released from police custody. Multiple academic studies have found that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans. A study published by the [Annual Review of Criminology](https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-criminol-030421-033048) in 2023 found no association between high concentrations of immigrants and increased levels of crime. Anne Fundner, a mother of four children, drew a strong reaction as she spoke about her 15-year-old son's death from a fentanyl overdose in Southern California in 2022, which she described as "the tragic reality of open borders.” "I hold Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—the border czar—what a joke, and every Democrat who supports open borders, responsible for the death of my son,” Fundner said. As she spoke, the crowd chanted, “Joe must go.” and waved printed signs handed out by convention staff that read, “Stop Biden’s border bloodbath.” Michael Morin came to the stage to describe the death of his sister Rachel Morin, a 37-year-old mother who was killed last year while exercising on a trail in Hartford County, Maryland. A 23-year-old immigrant from El Salvador in the country unlawfully was arrested in her death, police said. “Open borders are often portrayed as compassionate and virtuous, but there is nothing compassionate about allowing violent criminals into our country and robbing children of their mother,” Morin said. Randy Sutton, a retired Las Vegas police lieutenant, was cheered when he described an “endless tsunami of illegal aliens” coming into the U.S. He blamed crime in America’s cities on Biden’s immigration policy and said police weren’t being respected. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, well, they stand with the criminals,” Sutton said, adding that "these pro-criminal anti-police extremists" fear Trump's return to the White House. The alarmist tone to many of the night’s speeches follow a decline in border crossings in recent weeks, after Biden announced last month that the U.S. would stop processing asylum claims when daily arrests for unauthorized crossings spike above 2,500\. Illegal border crossings have averaged 2 million per year since 2021\. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran against Trump in the Republican primary touting his anti-immigration policies, said that Biden supports “open borders allowing millions and millions of illegal aliens pouring into our country and to burden our communities.” “Just don’t send them to Martha’s Vineyard,” he added. “They get upset.” DeSantis used Florida state funds to fly migrants to Massachusetts in 2022 to protest Biden’s immigration policies. Trump has promised on his first day in office to seal the U.S. border and begin arresting and deporting millions of immigrants living in the country without authorization. He told TIME earlier this year he would be willing to build a series of [migrant detention camps](https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/) to facilitate the process if needed. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/"},"headline":"Republicans Link Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policies on RNC's Second Night","datePublished":"2024-07-17T03:15:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:46.836Z","description":"Academics say undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes","url":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/","keywords":["Immigration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2938b3144fddea5/698a58d8d07533115ae70fde/GettyImages-2162341041.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Bennett","jobTitle":"Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf2938b3144fddea5/698a58d8d07533115ae70fde/GettyImages-2162341041.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2024 Republican National Convention: Day 2","caption":"2024 Republican National Convention: Day 2","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/","name":"Republicans Link Murders and Drug Overdoses to Biden Border Policies on RNC's Second Night"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Once Trump’s Fiercest Rival, Nikki Haley Makes the Case for Republicans Uniting Behind Him","description":"A few months ago, Nikki Haley was one of Donald Trump’s fiercest opponents. The two candidates engaged in public spats and name-calling as they campaigned for the Republican nomination. But on the second night of the Republican National Convention, Haley set aside their past conflicts and formally endorsed her ex-boss and onetime rival for the general election.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/8PVCxqus/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-17T03:23:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8PVCxqus.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/","duration":"PT3M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6999410/rnc-immigration-anne-fundner/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```