Republican Overseas UK chairman Greg Swenson has addressed the "horrific" New Year's Day terror attack in New Orleans that claimed 15 lives, highlighting broader security concerns surrounding immigration in the United States.
Speaking to GB News, Swenson discussed the implications of the attack, which saw a pickup truck deliberately driven into crowds celebrating on Bourbon Street.
He said: "I think it's hard to connect illegal migrants to the New Orleans incident because it turns out he was an American citizen.
"But there was some confusion yesterday. There was the truck on record crossing the border from Mexico to the United States a couple of months ago.
"So it looked like it could potentially be another one. But remember, this is in the context of the New York subway homicide last week, arson and homicide. It's completely horrific. That was an illegal migrant.
"Then you had the University of Georgia with Laken Riley, the nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant.
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"It's a bigger picture than that, even. It's not just that they're illegal migrants committing these horrific crimes, but also they're on record for being arrested and released.
"So yesterday, while not directly related to the migrant problem, it just exposed the fact that crime is elevated in the US.
"There is complete chaos in big cities, especially in blue states and Democrat run states, explaining another indicator of why people are moving out of blue states into red states, people vote with their feet.
"I think we're going to see that here in the United Kingdom as well."
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, resulted in dozens of injuries alongside the fatalities.
The FBI is investigating the ramming as an act of terrorism, after discovering an ISIS flag in the attacker's vehicle.
The suspect has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran from Texas, who was killed in a firefight with police following the attack.
FBI officials confirmed Jabbar had made video recordings prior to the attack declaring his allegiance to ISIS.
The suspect, born in Beaumont, Texas, had worked in real estate and IT, according to records.
The vehicle used in the attack was rented through Turo, according to the company.
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Speaking to GB News, Swenson discussed the implications of the attack, which saw a pickup truck deliberately driven into crowds celebrating on Bourbon Street.
He said: "I think it's hard to connect illegal migrants to the New Orleans incident because it turns out he was an American citizen.
"But there was some confusion yesterday. There was the truck on record crossing the border from Mexico to the United States a couple of months ago.
"So it looked like it could potentially be another one. But remember, this is in the context of the New York subway homicide last week, arson and homicide. It's completely horrific. That was an illegal migrant.
"Then you had the University of Georgia with Laken Riley, the nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant.
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"It's a bigger picture than that, even. It's not just that they're illegal migrants committing these horrific crimes, but also they're on record for being arrested and released.
"So yesterday, while not directly related to the migrant problem, it just exposed the fact that crime is elevated in the US.
"There is complete chaos in big cities, especially in blue states and Democrat run states, explaining another indicator of why people are moving out of blue states into red states, people vote with their feet.
"I think we're going to see that here in the United Kingdom as well."
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, resulted in dozens of injuries alongside the fatalities.
The FBI is investigating the ramming as an act of terrorism, after discovering an ISIS flag in the attacker's vehicle.
The suspect has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Army veteran from Texas, who was killed in a firefight with police following the attack.
FBI officials confirmed Jabbar had made video recordings prior to the attack declaring his allegiance to ISIS.
The suspect, born in Beaumont, Texas, had worked in real estate and IT, according to records.
The vehicle used in the attack was rented through Turo, according to the company.
Find Out More...