On Monday, broadcast networks ignored how a caravan of Honduran migrants struggled with Guatemalan police as they illegally stormed the country. NBC Nightly News actually noticed the existence of the caravan though intentionally not mentioned the violent wider crossing. Well, NBC doubled in size on Tuesday when they again noticed the caravan before touting President-elect Joe Biden’s path to citizenship for them.
Andrea Mitchell, chief correspondent for Washington and foreign affairs, reported on Monday: “Waiting for the elected president, a caravan on the way from Honduras to the USA. Thousands of people hope that Donald Trump can cross the border after his death. Don’t come now, says the Biden team. ”
Fast forward to Tuesday and there was a hint of violence from correspondent Gabe Gutierrez, but he noted that it was only from police trying to prevent the crowd from illegally entering Guatemala. “While Guatemala police attempt to break into another immigrant caravan for the United States, Biden’s new administration is proposing an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants,” he said.
From there, Gutierrez boasted of Biden’s plans for so-called dreamers and the illegal status of illegal immigrants:
Jorge Bonita Perez is the recipient of DACA, which allows people who were illegally brought to the US as young children to stay here. The proposed bill would allow so-called dreamers to apply for a green card immediately. Other qualified immigrants could get temporary status for five years and apply for citizenship three years later. Biden has also said he would help reunite the hundreds of undocumented children who are still separated from their parents after crossing the border.
“Fear among migrants has increased since President Trump took office“He mourned.
Gutierrez even recalled his coverage of another caravan in 2018. “We were there in 2018 when another caravan marched north,” he noted. “The Trump administration would later require migrants to stay in Mexico while they apply for asylum.”
(MRC Latino found the following soundbite from a migrant from this latest caravan who told a reporter that he may have resorted to violence against the Guatemalan military.)
At the time, Gutierrez and Today co-host Savannah Guthrie praised how the migrants defied President Trump calls on them to stop. “Breaking overnight, on the move and on the rise. This massive caravan of migrants moving to the US is only getting bigger. The group, which now has more than 7,000 members and is resisting the president’s demands to repent, ”Guthrie boasted.
Gutierrez, for his part, pointed out that the Mexican government could not stop them. “The Mexican government was hoping to stop this group on their southern border. That didn’t happen, ”he said to Guthrie. “This morning the immigrant caravan on its way to the United States is growing and swelling to more than 7,000 people.”
And when NBC announced that the migrants were only seeking asylum, they ignored how members of the “first wave” of the caravan were caught on camera climb the border fence and enter illegally the USA
ABC and CBS still refused to cover the caravan at all.
The transcript is below, click “Expand” to read:
NBC Nightly News
January 19, 2021
7:14:57 p.m. East
LESTER HOLT: If Joe Biden takes his oath tomorrow, he will immediately face crises on several fronts. His first tests included a major overhaul of immigration and setting a course for his foreign policy. Let’s start more on this, starting with Gabe Gutierrez.
[Cuts to video]
GABE GUTIERREZ: While the Guatemala police attempt to break another immigrant caravan into the US, the new Biden administration is proposing an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
JORGE BONITAS PEREZ: Compared to the last four years, that’s great. Thats a wonder.
GUTIERREZ: Jorge Bonita Perez is the recipient of DACA, which allows people who were illegally brought to the US as small children to stay here. The proposed bill would allow so-called dreamers to apply for a green card immediately. Other qualified immigrants could get temporary status for five years and apply for citizenship three years later. Biden has also said he would help reunite the hundreds of undocumented children who are still separated from their parents after crossing the border.
Fear among migrants has increased since President Trump took office.
Patience is waning here on the Guatemalan side of the border.
We were there in 2018 when another caravan marched north. The Trump administration would later require migrants to stay in Mexico while they apply for asylum. Opponents of Biden’s proposal say it is an amnesty.
DAN STEIN (Federation for American Immigration Reform): If you reward people who have broken the law before anyone else who respected it, it sends a bad signal.
[Cuts back to live]
GUTIERREZ: Immigration reform stalled in Congress during the Bush and Obama administrations. But the Democrats now say it’s a priority. Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News, Washington.
Comments are closed.