It was the kind of story destined to take a dark turn through the conservative news media and grab President Trump’s attention: A vast horde of migrants was making its way through Mexico toward the United States, and no one was stopping them.
“Mysterious group deploys ‘caravan’ of illegal aliens headed for U.S. border,” warned Frontpage Mag, a site run by David Horowitz, a conservative commentator.
The Gateway Pundit, a website that was most recently in the news for spreading conspiracies about the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., suggested the real reason the migrants were trying to enter the United States was to collect social welfare benefits.
And as the president often does when immigration is at issue, he saw a reason for Americans to be afraid. “Getting more dangerous. ‘Caravans’ coming,” a Twitter post from Mr. Trump read.
The story of “the caravan” followed an arc similar to many events — whether real, embellished or entirely imagined — involving refugees and migrants that have roused intense suspicion and outrage on the right. The coverage tends to play on the fears that hiding among mass groups of immigrants are many criminals, vectors of disease and agents of terror. And often the president, who announced his candidacy by blaming Mexico for sending rapists and drug dealers into the United States, acts as an accelerant to the hysteria.
The sensationalization of this story and others like it seems to serve a common purpose for Mr. Trump and other immigration hard-liners: to highlight the twin dangers of freely roving migrants — especially those from Muslim countries — and lax immigration laws that grant them easy entry into Western nations.
The narrative on the right this week, for example, mostly omitted that many people in the caravan planned to resettle in Mexico, not the United States. And it ignored how many of those who did intend to come here would probably go through the legal process of requesting asylum at a border checkpoint — something miles of new wall and battalions of additional border patrol would not have stopped.
“They end up in schools on Long Island, some of which are MS-13!” declared Brian Kilmeade on the president’s preferred morning news program, “Fox & Friends,” referring to the predominantly Central American gang.
The coverage became so distorted that it prompted a reporter for Breitbart News who covers border migration, Brandon Darby, to push back. “I’m seeing a lot of right media cover this as ‘people coming illegally’ or as ‘illegal aliens.’ That is incorrect,” he wrote on Twitter. “They are coming to a port of entry and requesting refugee status. That is legal.”
In an interview, Mr. Darby said it was regrettable that the relatively routine occurrence of migrant caravans — which organizers rely on as a safety-in-numbers precaution against the violence that can happen along the trek — was being politicized. “The caravan isn’t something that’s a unique event,” he said. “And I think people are looking at it wrong. If you’re upset at the situation, it’s easier to be mad at the migrant than it is to be mad at the political leaders on both sides who won’t change the laws.”
As tends to be the case in these stories, the humanitarian aspects get glossed over as migrants are collapsed into one maligned category: hostile foreign invaders. (...)
That got shot down real quick once word got out....
Good, til now I hadn't heard, but its just one of many. They're gonna try and put em up everywhere ala Hurricane Katrina.
My solution is to either ship them home, immediately or if that isn't happening, ship them to all the cities such as New York and San Francisco, Oakland and others who have openly declared themselves 'Sanctuary Cities' . When a city steps up so boldly, it should be honored and the best way to do that is to ship them there where they will be welcomed with open arms. Don't schlepp them off to places that don't want them and cannot handle the financial burden, especially when we have cities who volunteered and can handle the financial investment for all these invaders.
Or Obama can do what Mexico does and ship them north another notch ...
Obama just got done speaking about the "humanitarian situation" on the border. He has downgraded it from what he previously called a "crisis". Funny how it got better even though its getting worse by the day.
Obama denied that his policies, specifically his executive order in 2012, has had any affect to cause this crisis. He said that he is powerless to do anything about it. He said that it is all the fault of Republicans in Congress and that they alone can make things better, if they give him money and pass his comprehensive immigration bill.
Obama obviously does not know what it means to be CIC and to defend our borders.
So there we have it. Its the Republicans fault as usual. Obama is blameless and powerless to do anything about it.
Willful failure to defend our borders against invasion is treason. I'd say impeach the SOB, but it would die in the Senate.
The crisis on the border was created and engineered by Obama. We know that based upon a government job posting in January requesting transportation services of the type now being used with an anticipated demand for some 60,000 women and children.
There are reports of 300,000 still on their way to our southern border as a result of Obama's advertising of "refugee" status for those who make it. He is not going to deport anyone. Once again Obama is hiding behind Congress saying he can do nothing about it, in direct conflict with his threats of bypassing a do nothing Congress with his "phone and pen" which he has done so much of already that the SCOTUS has just rejected another of his phony pen actions. The author of the law Obama is hiding behind, Sen Feinstein, has said that it is indeed within Obama's executive powers to intercede at the border. Obama has now pissed off the California Senator twice in as many months.
Obama has opened up our border to an invasion and is not doing one GD thing about it. Let's remember that 150,000 men participated in the D - Day Invasion. He has no clue how to stop it, if he even wanted to. He's going to Texas for a couple of days to party, yet will not go to the border to witness this humanitarian crisis because of the bad "optics" it would create. 'Scuse me, he is already backing away for calling it a crisis and now referring to it as a humanitarian 'situation'.
But now the UN is on his back to declare these invaders "refugees" and grant them permanent status. Will Obama cowtow to the UN or defend our borders ? My money is on the UN. This will become further proof of his efforts to destroy this nation, the rule of law and our Constitution.
A nation without borders is not a nation ... Reagan.
You're plenty smart to hold your own in a debate, you just need a more defensible position. We really are in agreement on the basics, I just wasn't willing to let your original statement go unchallenged (good thing I've never spouted anything half thought out after a bad morning - ivory tower and all. . . )
One day you will perhaps achieve my perfection and all knowing ways.
Final comment,because I know that you're way smarter than me and the only way I could win an argument with you would be by being so snarky about things that you'd get disgusted and give up,and I don't consider that a win nor am I seeking one.
Like I said,I'm having a crappy day and could have stated my opinions differently.
I'll sum it up- 1-I am 100% behind legal immigration and feel that anyone from any country has a right to become an American citizen 2-I am 100% against illegal immigration and crime in general,especially when it affects me.
You're plenty smart to hold your own in a debate, you just need a more defensible position. We really are in agreement on the basics, I just wasn't willing to let your original statement go unchallenged (good thing I've never spouted anything half thought out after a bad morning - ivory tower and all...)
Fair enough. I agree there is a problem. We're a pretty great country with a lot of resources, I think we can come up with a better solution than we have now, and keep it well short of stooping to the lower standard of the countries these people are fleeing for a better life. I don't think we want to keep people away by making things worse here than the desperate situations they are fleeing.
Final comment, because I know that you're way smarter than me and the only way I could win an argument with you would be by being so snarky about things that you'd get disgusted and give up, and I don't consider that a win nor am I seeking one.
Like I said, I'm having a crappy day and could have stated my opinions differently.
I'll sum it up- 1-I am 100% behind legal immigration and feel that anyone from any country has a right to become an American citizen 2-I am 100% against illegal immigration and crime in general, especially when it affects me.
- ivory tower and all...)