Americans Doubt Border Crisis Because MSM Ignores It
Network news reveals anti-Trump bias by underreporting events that support his agenda.
The number of illegal aliens apprehended at the border and deemed “inadmissible” hit 103,000 in March and 109,000 in April. That’s “the highest monthly levels in more than a decade,” acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan has advised Congress. McAleenan further noted that in fiscal year 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had “encountered more than 683,000 illegal migrants and inadmissibles,” and “Homeland Security Investigations made more than 34,000 criminal arrests, of which 4,300 were gang-related; and law enforcement agents and the United States Coast Guard seized more than one million pounds of illegal drugs.”
The trouble is much of America hears nothing of these numbers through reports regarding the growing border crisis, because the mainstream media has for the most part chosen to simply ignore it as a non-issue. A recent study from the Media Research Center found that news coverage from the big three networks — ABC, CBS, and NBC — from January 1 to May 15 totaled 234 stories that focused on immigration. Of those stories, only 9% made any mention of the dramatic increase in the number of illegal aliens apprehended crossing the U.S. border.
Thus it’s no surprise to see that a recent Harvard/Harris poll found 87% of respondents believed the number of border apprehensions to be significantly lower than they are, with a majority of survey respondents estimating that less than 100,000 illegal aliens are apprehended per year. Remember, it now exceeds that number every month.
MRC observes, “Having the correct data changes minds: An ABC News/Washington Post poll that did not provide this context found 64 percent of respondents opposed President Trump’s February 15 emergency declaration in order to free up money for barrier construction. Meanwhile, the Harvard/Harris poll found that when respondents were told the actual rates of illegal immigration, those numbers flipped, with a majority (52%) supporting it.”
The MSM’s underreporting on significant events and issues reveals just as much of a biased agenda as does any unapologetic Leftmedia outlet pumping out straight-up fake news.