Trump Pursues His Attack on Sweden, With Scant Evidence

Officials say they have not seen any evidence for the claim, prevalent in right-wing news outlets like Breitbart and Infowars, that migration has driven a major surge in crime. The government has not provided a breakdown of crime statistics according to the ethnic or national background of suspects since 2005, although one right-wing party has called on the government to provide updated statistics.

Manne Gerell, a doctoral student in criminology at Malmo University, said in an interview that immigrants were disproportionately represented among suspects in crimes, particularly in more serious and violent offenses. But he also noted that many of the victims were other immigrants, whether members of criminal networks or simply residents of poor neighborhoods.

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Although terrorism is a concern for Sweden -- an Iraqi-born Swede blew himself up in central Stockholm in 2010 -- the authorities say they are equally worried about racist hate crimes, including attacks on migrants.

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Carl Bildt, a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden, made a jab at Mr. Trump on Twitter: "Just a piece of friendly advice: when you are in a hole, stop digging."