Fox Seizes On Immigrant Bust To Criticize Obama’s Immigration Record
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on May 20th, 2011 4:44 am by HL
Fox Seizes On Immigrant Bust To Criticize Obama’s Immigration Record
Fox & Friends seized on a story of over 500 migrants who were caught packed into trucks in Mexico to attack President Obama’s claim that “far fewer people are attempting to cross the border illegally.” But immigration data supports Obama’s claim that illegal border crossings have decreased.
Authorities Caught Over 500 Immigrants Packed Into Trucks In Chiapas, Mexico
AP: Police In Chiapas, Mexico Find “513 Migrants…Inside Two Trailer Trucks Bound For The United States.” A May 17 Associated Press article reported:
Police in Mexico’s southern Chiapas state found 513 migrants on Tuesday inside two trailer trucks bound for the United States.
[…]
Chiapas state police discovered the migrants while using X-ray equipment on the trucks at a checkpoint in the outskirts of city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the National Immigration Institute said in a statement.
Police also arrested four people accused of smuggling the migrants, who are from Central and South America and Asia, Chiapas state prosecutors said in a statement.
The alleged smugglers tried to escape police but were chased down and captured, prosecutors said.
The immigration institute said 410 of the migrants were from Guatemala, 47 from El Salvador, 32 from Ecuador, 12 from India, six from Nepal, three from China and one each from Japan, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. There were 32 women and four children among them. [CBS News,
[House Homeland Security Committee Hearing,
[Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/19/11]
In Fact, The Trucks Were Found And Stopped In Southern Mexico. As CNN reported, “X-ray equipment detected the immigrants at checkpoints in the southern state of Chiapas, the state attorney general’s office said. The drivers of both trucks sped away after authorities ordered them to stop, but police apprehended them nearby.” [CNN, 5/17/11]
Fox Has A History Of Misinforming About Obama’s Immigration Record
Fox Uses White House Meeting On Immigration Reform To Insult Undocumented Immigrants And Border Security. On April 19, Fox News’ “straight news” programs used a White House meeting on immigration reform to fearmonger about immigration and bash Obama’s record on border security and immigration. [Media Matters, 4/20/11]
Fox & Friends Falsely Suggested Obama Refuses To Secure Border. In October, 2010, Fox & Friends hosted Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and agreed with his false suggestion that Obama has not worked to secure the border with Mexico. [Media Matters, 10/13/10]
Right-Wing Media Falsely Claim Obama Said Border Security Is “Impossible.” In July, 2010, right-wing media distorted one of Obama’s immigration speeches to claim that he said border security is impossible. In fact, Obama said our immigration problems can’t be solved “only with fences and border patrols” and that other measures are needed to reduce the incentives for illegal immigration, a view that has also been expressed by many experts and several Republicans. [Media Matters, 7/20/10]
Right-Wing Media Figures Have Repeatedly Distorted Obama’s Record On Border Security. Right-wing media figures have a history of falsely portraying Obama as weak on border security. [Media Matters, 7/1/10, 7/29/10, 8/4/10]
