As the debris from the presidential election is still being cleared, corporate media should reflect on its shamelessly partisan coverage and yet another failure to gauge voter sentiment. Instead, it is launching a massive campaign to sway public opinion against the priorities of President Donald Trump's second administration, particularly its plan to deport the millions of individuals who entered the country illegally over the past four years.
This may seem like a significant increase, given that President Trump has made immigration reform a pillar of his campaign. Voters rewarded him with a landslide victory in the Electoral College and a decisive margin in the popular vote. Consistent with these results, majority of Americans currently support mass deportation. Unflinching anti-border activists on network and cable news are working tirelessly to derail President Trump's immigration policies, using misleading data, selective omissions, and emotional appeals. are.
Recent election results show that old media strategies are failing more than ever.
Election campaigning began before election day. A week earlier, CBS' once-acclaimed “60 Minutes” A special feature was broadcast We are considering what President Trump's immigration policy means. Correspondent Cecilia Vega accompanies Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their arrests, speaks with undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation, and interviews former acting ICE Director Tom Homan, whom President Trump has named border czar. did. Full disclosure: Homan previously served as a senior research fellow in the United States. Immigration Reform Law Institute.
During his interview with Homan, Vega used selective data to argue against mass deportations and ignored statistics that strongly supported the policy. Without citing sources, she claimed that deporting one million illegal aliens would cost $88 billion a year, an unreasonable and unacceptable expense.
However, Vega is omitted. 2023 Cost Survey It shows that illegal immigrants impose a total fiscal burden on U.S. taxpayers of $150.7 billion each year. This estimate obviously does not include additional costs starting in 2024 or additional burdens on social services for U.S. citizens and legal residents. Why continue to pay more for chaos and crime when you can achieve stable communities for less?
The report also featured Jason Hauser, who served as ICE's chief of staff in the Biden administration, portraying himself as a pragmatic government official who opposed Homan's extremism allegations. Houser pointed out that it costs ICE $150 per night to detain illegal aliens arrested, a figure that is an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.
Vega once again failed to give viewers a complete story. Under the Biden administration's border policy, the federal government and New York City are spending an average of $256 per night on border security. detain illegal immigrants at The Row, a 1,331-room luxury hotel in Manhattan, as well as approximately 140 other hotels across the five boroughs. There is a similar story in chicago and other large sanctuary cities. Local New York news outlets reported on The Row. waste a ton Fresh edible food provided for immigrants is provided by throwing it in the trash every day. If fiscal responsibility is the goal, you don't need a degree in economics to realize that ICE detention is a more cost-effective option.
As it has done for years in the debate against border security, the media continues to illegally highlight the most sympathetic people here, painting them as victims of ruthless xenophobic policies. “60 Minutes” followed this familiar script, featuring a crying Baltimore woman expressing fear that her family might be deported.
This report conveniently ignores the most sympathetic victims of illegal immigration: the families of angels whose loved ones were killed by violent criminals, drunk drivers, or people who were never supposed to come to this country. I was doing it. Why didn't the following victims' families appear in this story? Jocelyn Nangaray, Laken Rileyor Rachel Morin?And why don't you mention it? 325,000 immigrant children Has the Biden administration lost sight of the fact that many of them face risks of sex trafficking and forced labor?
The answer is obvious. “60 Minutes'' is not intended to objectively examine complex issues, but rather to convey propaganda aimed at swaying public opinion against the Trump administration's future implementation of immigration laws. There is.
As with many other issues, corporate media aims to convince you to ignore the reality you observe every day and instead accept the ideologically fabricated narrative it presents. Recent election results show that old media strategies are failing more than ever.
