The National Republican Congressional Committee released a wildly xenophobic ad on Monday depicting several national parks overrun with immigrants.
The ad used artificial intelligence to create images of different national parks in the style of vintage travel posters. The parks, which include the Grand Canyon and the National Mall, are filled with tents that supposedly belong to undocumented immigrants.
“More crime. Less tourism. No beauty,” the ad says. “Democrats’ National Parks.”
The ad is an attempted jab at Democrats who voted last week to block a bill that would prohibit using public lands for temporary housing for migrants applying for asylum. The bill passed in the House on Thursday by a vote of 224–203. Six Democrats joined Republicans to support the measure, which is unlikely to pass the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Many Democrats have warned that the bill is a Republican messaging tactic ahead of 2024, where GOP candidates are expected to make draconian immigration policies a major part of their platforms.
Those critics were proven right Monday with the RNCC ad. The ad combines two popular Republican talking points: opposing immigration and accusing Democrats of being soft on crime. But not only is the ad deeply xenophobic, it’s also false. A study released in July by a team of economists from Stanford University found that immigration has not caused crime rates to increase in 140 years.