Trump’s racist attack on immigrants has left dangerous gun crimes unchecked

WASHINGTON — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement after a CNN investigation found a notable reduction in gun crime cases as President Trump diverts agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to immigration enforcement. According to CNN, 80% of special agents have been reassigned to immigration cases, resulting in a significant reduction in firearms license investigations and undermining the ATF’s ability to enforce commonsense gun laws.

“Guns are the number one killer of kids and young people in the United States. Instead of addressing this crisis, Donald Trump has focused on ripping families apart and kidnapping people off the streets across America. This has now led to a significant reduction in the ATF’s ability to do its job to stop gun crime. If Donald Trump was serious about fighting crime, he wouldn’t be sending ICE agents to elementary schools and hospitals, he would fully fund the ATF and let law enforcement do their jobs,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown. 

CNN reports that the agency has lost one in every seven firearms license investigators, and could lose 550 of 600 remaining investigators under Trump’s budget. The ATF did not revoke a single dealer’s license, even ones who were found to have broken the law, in the first four and a half months of this year. Additionally, the Trump administration has proposed a $400 million cut to the ATF’s budget.