NBC: Alabama's 'Extremely Tough' Immigration Law a 'Fear Factor' for School Children
At the top of Friday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams took aim at Alabama's new immigration law: "Fear factor. Children pulled out of school in this country while parents give up work they desperately need, all because of the sudden impact of a tough new law."
Later introducing a report on the Obama Justice Department blocking implementation of the "extremely tough new immigration law," Williams warned: "Federal officials say the state law invites discrimination against all foreign-born residents, and they're especially worried about its effect on children."
In the story that followed, correspondent Kerry Sanders lamented: "Alabama's new immigration law is perhaps most confusing to children. In just one week they've been told teachers will not single them out. But when a group of students near Birmingham with Hispanic-sounding last names was told to assemble...it was all tears."
Moments later, Sanders revealed that the ominous-sounding assembly, "was, in fact, to make sure they understood school officials would deport no one."
Sanders went on to portray the new law as damaging to the state economy:
Alabama's farmers say while this new state law is doing as it was designed, undocumented immigrants are indeed leaving, it's left the agriculture industry as the victims of unintended consequences. With 30 acres of tomatoes still to be picked, farmer Brian Alexander says most of the workers are now gone....In the first week of this law, farmers, poultry processors, contractors say while they've all lost workers, they're yet to see a rush to fill those jobs, despite Alabama's 9.9 percent unemployment rate.
Williams was not the first network anchor to use the term "fear factor" when discussing immigration law. On the July 15, 2010 broadcast of ABC's World News, anchor Diane Sawyer used the exact same phrase to attack Arizona's then-new immigration law.
An MRC study from May of 2010, Elitist Networks Pile On Against Arizona Immigration Law, found that by 12 to 1, NBC, ABC and CBS bashed that law enforcement effort as discriminatory.
Here is a full transcript of the October 7 Nightly News report:
7:00PM ET TEASE:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Fear factor. Children pulled out of school in this country while parents give up work they desperately need, all because of the sudden impact of a tough new law.
7:07PM ET SEGMENT:
WILLIAMS: In this country, the Justice Department today asked a federal appeals court to block Alabama's extremely tough new immigration law which took effect last week. Federal officials say the state law invites discrimination against all foreign-born residents, and they're especially worried about its effect on children. Our report tonight from NBC's Kerry Sanders.
KERRY SANDERS: Alabama's new immigration law is perhaps most confusing to children. In just one week they've been told teachers will not single them out. But when a group of students near Birmingham with Hispanic-sounding last names was told to assemble...
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Our principal told us to come – all the Mexicans to come to the library.
SANDERS: ...it was all tears.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Half of the kids were already crying.
SANDERS: As the kids enjoyed a birthday party this week, they explained the school meeting was, in fact, to make sure they understood school officials would deport no one.
DAVID SEALE [JAMESON MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL]: We're already looking at about a quarter of our Hispanic population indicating that they will be leaving us very soon.
SANDERS: Alabama's farmers say while this new state law is doing as it was designed, undocumented immigrants are indeed leaving, it's left the agriculture industry as the victims of unintended consequences. With 30 acres of tomatoes still to be picked, farmer Brian Alexander says most of the workers are now gone. How many people were harvesting?
BRIAN ALEXANDER: We had roughly 85 to 90 workers.
SANDERS: And now?
ALEXANDER: 40 to 45.
SANDERS: Alexander says farmers want to hire Americans or those legally here, but no one wants the jobs.
KEITH SMITH [CULLMAN, ALABAMA FARMER]: As long as people eat, go to the grocery store and go to the restaurants, we're going to have to have these workers.
SANDERS: In the first week of this law, farmers, poultry processors, contractors say while they've all lost workers, they're yet to see a rush to fill those jobs, despite Alabama's 9.9 percent unemployment rate.
SCOTT BEASON [STATE SENATOR, R-AL]: They may have to adjust the pay a little bit, but Alabamians will work hard and they will take these jobs.
SANDERS: Senator Beason authored Alabama's new immigration law because he says the federal government wasn't doing its job. A law that may eventually force many of Alabama's estimated 120,000 undocumented immigrants out of state, but not out of the country. Kerry Sanders, NBC News, Steele, Alabama.
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Comments
The only fear is with those .....
Submitted by jmigyanka@msn.com on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:07pm.
.... who are criminals, breakers of the law, illegals, and illicit. ROLL TIDE
If the federal gov't had been
Submitted by rbosque on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:03pm.
If the federal gov't had been doing their job from the get-go, none of this would even come up.
Good news.
Submitted by WarEagle01 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:21pm.
"Alabama's farmers say while this new state law is doing as it was designed, ILLEGAL ALIENS are indeed leaving, it's left the agriculture industry as the victims of unintended consequences." So, you're telling me there are plenty of jobs now available in Alabama. I see this as a good thing.
an offer that can be refused
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:25pm.
The problem the farmers have in getting US workers is that the farmer has to compete with the government. With all of the 'assistance' available who wants to pick tomatoes for the same or less than the government will provide to citizens by merely signing up to a free program?
I have the Solution...
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 7:33pm.
If you collect benefits in Alabama, they shoudl tell you take the job picking tomatoes or you don't get ANY benefits!!!! They get the fields picked and they get some of the benefits they would have collected anyway. American Jobs, lower unemployment and they work for what they get a win win win all around!
Anything implemented like
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:09pm.
Anything implemented like that would look like a chain gang with guards to keep the inmates in line as they work.
head em up! move em out!!
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:21pm.
Every state that doesn't want illegals should pass similar laws and force them to states like California and New York where they are welcome.
Except for one thing, MA.
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:25pm.
The dems will confiscate more of our money to bail out places like New York and Ca. Then, we'll end up paying for in-state tuition for illegals, regardless of what our states do.
send em where the compassionate liberals live
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:38pm.
What the states who don't want illegals could also do is provide free transportation to the sanctuary cities and states and then help them sign up for all of the offered state and city services services.
or even on the cheap, non-illegal wanting states could leave brochures explaining benefits that are available and how to sign up for them if they (the illegals) find their way to these sanctuary destinations.
Great. . .
Submitted by rickbren on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:35pm.
. . .idea!!
Here in California, the
Submitted by rbosque on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:33pm.
Here in California, the idiots voted in Jerry Brown again; who wasted no time in granting the dream act to illegals. Meanwhile our state which was ALREADY in the red where billions have been spent on illegals will incur more costs and guess who ends up paying for it? I / we do.
In the meantime crime from illegals goes up and now the state in dangling another carrot for them to come here. Where I live, almost no one speaks English. I can't wait to to get the *#^% out of this state.
Good luck in Cali
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 6:46pm.
I hope everything works out for you in Cali, rbosque. Good weather and beautiful scenery may in the end be just to expensive, though.
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Thanks Kingfish. I'm hoping
Submitted by rbosque on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 9:14pm.
Thanks Kingfish. I'm hoping to get out within two years.
And the crime is bound to get
Submitted by Dan Diego on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 8:57pm.
And the crime is bound to get worse, state prisoners sent to county jails who are releasing their prisoners to make room.
tough love-no tickie no laundry-
Submitted by JIMMY1660 on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 7:58pm.
if you are illegal-you are illegal.
pack your stuff and go back to where ever.
pretty simple-"the law".
Fear Factor?
Submitted by ThisnThat on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 8:51pm.
If you do something illegal -- why should you be exempt from the fear of getting caught, and the fear of punishment?
In Washington, DC, you can be thrown in jail for an Illegal expired registration. Pretty harsh -- but no NBC news anchor is wringing his hands over that.
Conversely, if you are in California illegally, you get to take advantage of in-state tuition. Bottom line -- dims always want to pick and choose the illegal acts they want to ignore. And that simply leads to anarchy.
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
NBC: Alabama's 'Extremely Tough'. . .
Submitted by rickbren on Mon, 10/10/2011 - 10:36pm.
. . . Immigration Law a 'Fear Factor'. And the problem is??
Seems to me that hispanics
Submitted by eaglewingz08 on Tue, 10/11/2011 - 7:27am.
Seems to me that hispanics and liberal media are validating that hispanics are the overwhelming illegal alien population by this story. If illegals could be anyone as libs claim then other ethnicities would show a reduction to the law since all students are affected. Since that is not the case the libs have bolstered the illegal immigration problem with latinos.
As for fear and confusion those effects are solely due to these hysterical rants by the open borders crowd in the lamestream media.