Tag: news bias

Trump says he is considering a new family separation policy at U.S.-Mexico border

This article discusses the fact that Trump is considering a new family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump believes that the administration’s earlier move to separate children from their families was necessary and effective in order to get the rise in immigration. Trump has stated that they are “looking at everything that you could look at when it comes to illegal immigration”. He has also stated that while separating children from their families is a “terrible situation”, he is persistent on it because he hopes that it will scare away undocumented migrants from trying to enter the United States, “If they feel there will be separation, they won’t come”.

In August of 2018, the Department of Homeland Securities states that the country saw a 38 percent increase in the number of migrants arrested and charged with illegally crossing the border. For that reason, Trump believes that the people coming in are only bad people, “You have really bad people coming in and using people. They’re not their children. They don’t even know the children. They haven’t known the children for 20 minutes. And they grab children and they use them to come into our country”.

One option that the administration’s is looking at for their new plan on separating the children from their families is for the government to detain asylum-seeking families together for up to 20 days, then give parents a choice, to either stay in family detention with their child for months or years as their immigration case proceeds, or allow children to be taken to a government shelter so other relatives or guardians can seek custody.

Rucker, Philip. “Trump Says He Is Considering a New Family Separation Policy at U.S.-Mexico Border.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Oct. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-he-is-considering-a-new-family-separation-policy-at-us-mexico-border/2018/10/13/ea2f256e-cf25-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.285595715cf5.

 

Isis Hails Donald Trump’s Muslim Immigration Restrictions as a ‘blessed ban’

Al Qaeda, Isis and other jihadi groups could not be more excited that President Trump’s immigrant order is targeting Muslim countries. This ban temporarily  suspended the United States refugee program and it bans citizens of several muslim countries from entering the United States. This ban then cause controversy dealing with people trying to come back into the country that had green cards, legal work or study visas should be allowed back into this country or should they be sent back to where they came from. Many people that hold visas we being held and turned away from us flights because of this order. many politicians are worried that this order will fuel these groups and will end up helping them recruit future members. This is not good for this country because it is showing other countries that we have a problem with these people. it also shows as proof that the US is at war with Islam.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-donald-trump-muslim-ban-immigration-iraq-iran-restrictions-travel-islamic-state-us-visa-a7552856.html

Everything You Need to Know About the Migrant Caravan

Towards the end of 2018, mainstream media focused on the migrant caravans that started forming in Central America, making their way to the United States. The New York Times’ Annie Correal and Megan Specia’s article “The Migrant Caravan: What to Know About the Thousands Traveling North,” provided readers with basic information about the caravan and the purpose of the group. The article included the migrants’ living situations and their miles long trek every day.

Correal and Specia used broad statements that tried to avoid any bias against the caravan, however, the content of the article overall incited sympathy for the refugees and asylum seekers. They used two estimates from Mexican officials and Unicef about the number of people part of the caravan ranging between 3,000 to 7,000 with over 2,000 of which are children. They provided the reason for leaving their home countries citing Hondurans left due to “high unemployment, gang violence, and a recent drought” (Correa & Specia).

In one section, they added the aid the migrants received and the locals’ reactions towards the migrants as they made their way to their destinations. In one city, “The local government set up speakers and held rallies where mariachi bands played, a clown performed, and pastors offered prayers” (Correa & Specia). The section however, neglected to include information about those opposed to the caravan as they traveled through Mexico.

The article was biased towards immigration by only focusing on the migrants and their treacherous journey across Central America. The article ended with criticism of how the Trump Administration handled the caravan stating, “Even if the entire group reaches the border, its numbers represent a fraction of the migrants who arrive at the border each year” (Correa & Specia). The entire article was meant to invoke sympathy towards the migrants and criticism towards the methods used to handle the situation.

Correal, Annie, and Megan Specia. “The Migrant Caravan: What to Know About the Thousands Traveling North.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/world/americas/what-is-migrant-caravan-facts-history.html.

What Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy means for children separated from families at border

In the Fox News Article, What Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy means for children separated from families at border, it opposes the idea of immigration and detention centers mainly with children. It mentions that children don’t have it harsh like other refugees and immigrants have. According to DHS, “the child can be placed in the care of a relative already in the U.S.; however, a minor can also be put into foster care or a temporary detention center.” I feel this is a good chance for a children because they get the chance rather than be detained for so long. They mention that minors can only be detained for 20 days and transported to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). DHS help minors by giving them medical attention and mental health attention as well as educational programs. I find that it’s nice they give children a chance to be able to reunite with their families within the United States. It’s difficult to be separated from your immediate family but at least the children would be safe and getting all the attention they need rather than being detained in the harsh conditions of the detention centers. I think this is a better outlook of immigrants and refugees coming into the United States because they emphasize DHS and HHS to help the minors. Although, it’s still difficult because you know parents or adults are being separated and are detained longer and don’t get the opportunities that minors get.

Schallhorn, Kaitlyn. “What Trump’s ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Immigration Policy Means for Children Separated from Families at Border.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 2018, www.foxnews.com/politics/what-trumps-zero-tolerance-immigration-policy-means-for-children-separated-from-families-at-border.

Trump admin to shutter international immigration offices

Trump admin to shutter international immigration offices

Article by John Bowden and Rafael Bernal (https://thehill.com/policy/international/433714-trump-admin-to-shutter-21-international-immigration-offices)

I find it odd that the Hill, a news organization that sits to the right, would pick the word shutter to describe a recent administration move. Shutter evokes a sense of finality, a last weary sigh as all of one’s effort has been expended and there is no other choice than to call it quits. By using this word “shutter” the authors make this piece human from the outset, which doesn’t seem like a wise decision for an organization with conservative leanings. This article does however, heavily quote individuals associated with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when they created this article. This move, according to this article, is intended as a consolidation effort to address issues of budget and backlog. This article also quotes the head of the agency, Director L. Francis Cissna, as they address the decision to “shutter” (again a rather emotional word) their 21 offices and consolidate them into existing embassies and stateside offices. Cissna states while this change may be difficult, it is their intention to make the transition as smooth as possible. According to another, unnamed, official in the agency, this move is cost-cutting measure, and approximately 70 of the agency’s staff would be reassigned to other agencies. Oddly, at this point the article begins to criticize this move ( I saw odd as this is a conservative leaning news outlet). The authors quote a democrat house member, who states the move “sounds like a really dumb idea”. This move is exceedingly odd from a conservative organization.

Trump Administration Seeks To Close International Immigration Offices

Trump Administration Seeks To Close International Immigration Offices

Article created by Vanessa Romo and Joel Rose for NPR            (https://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702807908/trump-administration-seeks-to-close-international-immigration-offices)

For a news organization that sits left of center, and often reports with a bias against the current president, the title of this article seems oddly stale. NPR, or National Public Radio, is an organization that one would expect a slightly more loaded title, instead it seems rather on the nose. However, it should be noted that the actual content of this story is certainly titled left. This article lays out a recent administration decision to cut down on the number of foreign offices the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 23 to 0. These planned closures would save millions of dollars each year according to the Trump administration. With the closure of these offices, and much of the Agency in general, the duties would be transferred to the State Department, Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. A spokesperson for the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) claimed that this would not result in a bottleneck for those seeking asylum in the US. It is at this point that the NPR story begins to show its bias as they then begin to discuss the potential negative impacts of closing these offices. The authors of this story quote Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst for Migration Policy Institute, who states that this decision would likely exacerbate the existing bottleneck in the process that already exists. The authors of this piece continue in this vain for the last few paragraphs of this article, making the prediction that this move would result in further calls for more reductions in immigration.

Trump’s Stance on Refugees is a Discrace

President Trump is firing and getting rid of a lot people while he is in the White House, so it really isn’t that much of a surprise that President Trump is deciding to cut the number of refugees that are allowed into this country. Since starting the refugee resettlement program in 1980, this current cap for refugees is standing at 45,000 refugees. This cap is the lowest that it has ever been. The United States has been the number one country that allows the most refugees into the country out of any of the countries in this world. Pompeo says that the United States can’t process any more refugees because there is already to many requests that they can not grant. many people may be worried that these refugees might try and carry out a terrorist attack but ever since the United States started allowing refugees into the country not one terrorist attack has happened by a refugee and Pompeo says that there is no reason to be worried about an attack because a terrorist attack will not happen by a refugee. The White House is trying not to bring foreign people into this country and we can see that because the White House is trying to propose a foreign aid cut by almost 30 percent.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-09-19/trump-s-refugee-stance-is-a-disgrace

Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Is Illegal Under International Law

The Nation takes a different perspective than NPR regarding the “Remain in Mexico” policy. This article titled “Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Is Illegal Under International Law” from The Nation is against the policy because it’s illegal under international law to have people stay in Mexico before their trials. Returning back to Mexico may be difficult for those asylum seekers who have no job and/or connections locally. The Nation also discusses how it may be violent and dangerous for people to cross the border and return to Mexico, which is another reason why this policy should be reevaluated. One man interviewed in the article stated that his wife had been deported back to Mexico even though she was pregnant and clearly stated her fear of returning.

This article also has a bias; however, it is in the other direction from NPR. The Nation is focused on getting quotes and perspective from those asylum seekers that are impacted by this policy instead of government officials, which NPR was more focused on. Both of these articles are emotionally driven because of the quotes given from administration officials of the Department of Homeland Security as well as the asylum seekers. Although, people may feel as though The Nation’s article is more emotionally driven because of the direct quotes from those being impacted by the policy and having to deal with the violence and fear of returning back to Mexico.

Chen, Michelle. “Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Is Illegal Under International Law.” The Nation, The Nation, 7 Mar. 2019, www.thenation.com/article/trump-border-mexico-international-law-human-rights/.

‘Remain In Mexico’ Immigration Policy Expands, But Slowly

The article titled “’Remain In Mexico’ Immigration Policy Expands, But Slowly.” From NPR is for the policy to have people stay in Mexico before their trials. The “Remain in Mexico” policy is intended to discourage the increasing number of migrants that are escaping Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to seek asylum in the U.S. immigration courts. This article discusses that the Department of Homeland Security is starting out with smaller numbers within the asylum seekers to be sure that the process is smooth running and it can hold before seeking larger numbers of migrants. If the process works and the coordination with Mexico is set, then the program could expand to Texas and/or other locations. Lastly, the article mentions that immigrant rights’ advocates are going to court in hopes of shutting the program down.

There is bias in this article because NPR is focusing on government officials and those enforcing the policy instead of those who are being impacted by the policy such as the migrants. All of the quoted statements that are included in the article are coming from administration officials within the Department of Homeland Security. These selected officials’ quotes show that this article is mainly focusing on where the officials are coming from and not how or what the asylum seekers are feeling towards this situation and policy.

Rose, Joel. “’Remain In Mexico’ Immigration Policy Expands, But Slowly.” NPR, NPR, 12 Mar. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702597006/-remain-in-mexico-immigration-policy-expands-but-slowly.

It may take 2 years to identify thousands of migrant children separated from families

This article discusses the fact that it may take at least 2 years for the government to identify the thousands of migrant children who were sadly separated from their families. The apprehension of the children took place between July 1, 2017, to June 25, 2018. The filing on April 5, 2019, outlined the government’s plan to use data analysis and manual reviews in order to be able to look through all of the 47,000 cases of children that were taken by the U.S. immigration officials. This will help them allow which child was taken from which family.

In recent months, the number of families crossing the borders has increased. Before the only people crossing the border illegally would be single males but now, with the recent increase in crimes and violence, families feel as if they have no option but to flee their homes and cross the border by any means. These families are simply looking for someplace safe to be. For some of them, they don’t have the option to wait around and apply for a visa, for some, they need to leave now. With an increase in families crossing the border illegally, it has put a strain on the already overburdened immigration system. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, stated that the Democrats want to work with the president on this issue. He also states that separating children from their families is not the humane thing to do, it isn’t something that the U.S. should be doing but they are continuing to see the administration engage in this inhumane act of tearing families apart.

Cummings, William. “It May Take 2 Years to Identify Thousands of Migrant Children Separated from Families.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 7 Apr. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/07/immigration-family-separations-may-take-2-years-identify-children/3393536002/.