Immigration, the Caravan and the Media

We conservatives know very well that the mainstream media cannot be trusted to tell the truth, but can be trusted to slant the news and headlines to fit their left-wing agenda. On the first page of the 11/27/18 Ventura County Star was this headline: "Trump calls immigrants 'criminals.'" Of course, not everyone reads the articles - as the media knows - but for those who did, they were told that Trump called SOME immigrants criminals. Quite a difference.

For those of us who saw the scenes on TV of some of these nice immigrants rushing the border and throwing rocks and other items at the border police, that sure looked like criminal activity. Said the 11/26/18 front page story in the LA Times: "Trump's administration and those who support his hard-line stance on illegal immigration immediately seized on the dramatic images from the scene." Wait, Trump has a "hard-line" stance on ILLEGAL immigration? Trump did say he wants people to come here legally. What is the Times' stance on illegal immigration? Oh, that's right, the left does not believe any "immigration" is illegal.

In contrast to the Trump supporters, the Times tells us "...the images of the U.S. government using tear gas on a group of migrants that included children disturbed others..." What disturbed me was mothers and fathers who, having declined the asylum offered by Mexico, were willing to put their children at risk by rushing the US border. Then, the Times quotes Cristobal J. Alex, president of the Latino Victory Fund: "What we saw at the San Ysidro border crossing should horrify the whole country; it was simply inhumane." I am sure Mr. Alex was quoted by the Times during the Obama Administration, which used tear gas at the border 1.3 times per month during the years 2012 through 2016.

The 11/13/18 editorial in the New York Times was titled "Mr. Trump's Imaginary Immigrant Crisis." Imaginary? The violent scenes at the border looked quite real to me. The Times: "The United States has clear laws governing the the asylum process and well-funded agencies to enforce those laws." To quote the Church Lady: "Well, isn't that special?" If there is no immigrant crisis, and we have laws and agencies to take care of it, then why do we have millions and millions of people here illegally?

Clearly, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 did not solve the immigration problem. Given that relations between the Democrats and Republicans are worse today than they were in the 1980's, it is difficult to imagine any real solution coming anytime soon. Which, perhaps helps account for the popularity of Trump's border wall. In the meantime, no one should count on the mainstream media to fairly report on the immigration issue.