what was said

“We have to end the chain. The chain is like a disaster. You bring one person and you end up with 32 people.”

the facts

This is exaggerated.

Since last October’s truck attack in Manhattan, President Trump has claimed without evidence that an Uzbek man who was charged in the attack had sponsored 22 to 24 relatives who moved to the United States through “chain migration,” or family-based immigration.

On Monday, he appeared to have added a few relatives to this count and applied it more broadly to all immigrants.

American green card holders can sponsor only their spouses and unmarried children for permanent residence. American citizens can also sponsor their parents, siblings and married adult children.

As The New York Times has previously reported, studies have estimated that a single immigrant has, on average, sponsored 2.1 to 3.45 foreign relatives — a tenth of Mr. Trump’s dramatic figure.