According to the New York Times, the immigration situation has put President Joe Biden at odds with local Democratic leaders who want a tougher border policy. But the evidence of local Democrats morphing into Trumpists on the border is scant to nonexistent.
by Ari Paul, FAIR
The so-called migrant crisis—the increase in refugees at the US southern border (FAIR.org, 6/2/23)—has been seized on by Republicans as a line of attack against Biden as he runs for reelection (Gallup, 12/22/23; USA Today, 1/4/24), as well as a way to cause chaos in Democratic strongholds. This latter motive is exemplified by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s program of shipping unsuspecting asylum-seekers to Democratic cities. (Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis similarly exploited migrants by tricking them into going to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard—FAIR.org, 8/31/23.)
In a front-page, above-the-fold piece headlined “Biden Faces Pressure on Immigration, and Not Just From Republicans,” Times reporters Michael Shear and Miriam Jordan led by saying that Democratic mayors and governors were applying “growing pressure” on Biden “to curb record numbers of migrants crossing into the United States.”
The article concluded by saying that the administration’s willingness to speed up the deportation process “would be a huge departure from the positions taken by most Democrats” in the beginning of Biden’s term, but that these Democratic mayors and governors made it clear that the “dynamics have changed.”
The Times admitted that, “for the most part,” these Democrats “are not calling for the kind of severe border restrictions that Republicans are demanding.” Yet that is not how the Times framed this situation at the bookends of the article. In essence, the Times began and ended the article by saying that their reporting showed that Biden is under pressure from both Republicans and Democrats to take more anti-immigrant attitudes, both at the border and toward undocumented immigrants generally.
One problem: That isn’t what the Times sources say in the rest of the article.
Recent Posts
Big Systems, Bigger Profits: Consumers Are Paying the Price of Corporate Hospital Power
Take Action Now The analysis found every state dominated by a handful of system-owned hospitals, which not only charged higher rates on average but…
History of U.S.-Cuba Turmoil & the Possibility of a Full-Scale War
Take Action Now The U.S., while threatening an invasion and assassination of its leaders and/or bombing of Cuba is already conducting an act of war…
These Poor Billionaires Are Melting Down Over Taxing the Rich
Take Action Now Facing the prospect of paying a bit more in taxes, billionaires are responding calmly and rationally: by calling themselves a…
The New Jim Crow
Take Action Now What happened in Alabama on ThursdayBy Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision…