AP FACT CHECK: Trump's skewed claims on immigration, economy

So many lies to debunk

Donald Trump is distorting the truth when it comes to the impact of his administration's policy regarding separating children from their parents at the U.S. border.

He falsely suggests that a newly signed executive order will permanently solve the problem of separations by keeping families together when they are detained for illegally crossing the border and exaggerates the number of immigration judges available to process their claims while they're held in custody. A growing backlog of claims could mean that people will be held longer in detention until their cases are heard.

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A look at some of his statements and the reality behind them:

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TRUMP: "We have created more than 3.4 million new jobs since Election Day. 3.4 million. Think of what that means." — remarks Tuesday to the National Federation of Independent Business.

THE FACTS: Well, one thing it means is that job creation has slowed a bit compared to its previous pace. Trump is right that U.S. companies have added 3.4 million jobs in the 18 months since his election, a healthy total. But in the previous 18 months, 3.7 million jobs were added. That's not entirely surprising or a sign of a weakening economy — job gains typically decline as the unemployment rate falls and there are fewer people to hire. The unemployment rate is currently at an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. But Trump's remarks suggest there has been a turnaround in job creation, when there hasn't.

TRUMP: "Wages for working people are finally, after 22 years, rising again in our country." — remarks Tuesday.

THE FACTS: Wages, before adjusting for inflation, have ticked up in recent months. But so has inflation, which is offsetting those gains. In May, average hourly pay rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier. Yet inflation rose slightly more during that time: 2.8 percent. Household incomes rose at a solid pace in 2015 and 2016, according to the Census Bureau, partly because inflation was much lower during that time.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ap-fact-check-trumps-skewed-claims-on-immigration-economy/ar-AAz3jtu?li=BBnb7Kz