After several days of silence, Univision finally got around to covering the horrific rape at Rockville High School (Maryland). In so doing, the network aired a stunning admission that blows its liberal narrative and immigration agenda completely out of the water.
I don't ever recall an expert coming on a Univision newscast to state that the Obama administration's immigration policies contributed directly to the commission of a horrific crime, nor did I ever expect such an admission to be made during a live report from the scene of the crime. But here it is: immigration attorney Joseph Malouf explaining to correspondent Pablo Gato that the new Trump executive order would have stopped one of the alleged Rockville rapists from ever getting to Maryland, had it been in effect when the suspect was detained in Texas:
PABLO GATO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: If this had occurred now, with President Trump’s new executive order, what would the situation be?
JOSEPH MALOUF, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: It would be different, because they would have arrested Mr. Sanchez and they would have detained him, and eventually he would have been deported. He wouldn’t have been able to enter the area and obviously commit this crime.
The previous policy, left unnamed here, is the Obama administration's "catch and release" policy with regard to illegal aliens generally, and specifically for the tens of thousands of unaccompanied alien minors that have been streaming into the country from Central America these past few years.
I knew the live report from Rockville would be a blockbuster when visibly rattled Univision co-anchor María Elena Salinas went off-prompter, and proceeded to read her introduction to the story from the desk. Her intro speaks for itself:
MARIA ELENA SALINAS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: Well...much indignation has been caused by the brutal rape of a student - a young student that...had been abused by some Central American teenagers. But aside from the cruelty of that crime, the status of the defendants and the handling of their cases, it (the Rockville rape) is further agitating the climate of hostility towards immigrants. We now go to Pablo Gato with the latest information. Over to you, Pablo.
Such is the primacy of practically unfettered open-border policy at Univision. Even a horrific story such as this one (in itself, a macabre metaphor of the utter brokenness of our immigration system) was framed within the context of its potential detriment to the network's preferred liberal immigration policy. The crime itself seems to be of secondary importance - an inconvenient bump on the road to glorious immigration reform. That much was evident when Jorge Ramos coldly segued into the next story with "in other immigration news..."
Correspondent Pablo Gato further melded crime and policy by mentioning the specter of President Donald Trump and including portions of Press Secretary Sean Spicer's remarks on the matter. Gato then brought in attorney Joseph Malouf. None of Gato's subsequent caveats on lower immigant crime rates softened the blow of Malouf's citation of Obama-era policy as a direct cause of this awful event.
Univision's Rockville coverage ran about three minutes long. Caveats and anchor framing aside, the network ran a story that was totally detrimental to its long-term agenda, but certainly in the interest of public service.
Univision's top rival Telemundo, meanwhile, to its shame, was still silent on Rockville. That sister network of NBC chose instead to allocate time (2:02, to be precise) to continued coverage of the travels of Tom Brady's Super Bowl jersey.
Below is a full transcript of the above referenced segment as it aired on Noticiero Univision on March 21st, 2017.
MARIA ELENA SALINAS, UNIVISION ANCHOR: Well...much indignation has been caused by the brutal rape of a student- a young student that...had been abused by some Central American teenagers. But aside from the cruelty of that crime, the status of the defendants and the handling of their cases, it (the Rockville rape) is further agitating the climate of hostility towards immigrants. We now go to Pablo Gato with the latest information. Over to you, Pablo.
PABLO GATO, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, this horrible act occurred just behind where we are standing, at the Rockville High School, at the high school in Rockville (Maryland). We're talking about a girl, just 13 years old, who was walking down the hallway when these two persons allegedly took her to the bathroom and raped her there. Those two persons are: José Montano of El Salvador -17 years old, and Henry Sánchez of Guatemala -18 years old. And in midst of all this controversy over immigration and President Trump, the issue made it to the White House. Let's listen to what the White House Press Secretary had to say:
SEAN SPICER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This young woman, in particular, fought to come to this country legally because of the freedoms and the treasures of this nation. ... The president recognizes that education is a state-run and a local-run issue, but I think it is cause for concern what happened there. I think the city should look at its policies...immigration pays its toll on our people if it's not done legally...and this is why the president is so passionate about this.
PABLO GATO, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: The great controversy arises because Sánchez, 18, was arrested seven months ago in Texas, and released by ICE. And we are joined by immigration attorney Joseph Malouf. Tell us: If this had occurred now, with President Trump’s new executive order, what would the situation be?
JOSEPH MALOUF, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: It would be different, because they would have arrested Mr. Sanchez and they would have detained him, and eventually he would have been deported. He wouldn’t have been able to enter the area and obviously commit this crime.
PABLO GATO, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: What's going to happen to these kids now?
JOSEPH MALOUF, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: Well, they have to face charges in court, with a trial- whether with a jury or without- be sentenced if they are found guilty, of course...and if they are found guilty (they will) serve their sentence, and would only be deported upon serving their sentence.
PABLO GATO, UNIVISION CORRESPONDENT: Many thanks, Counsel. It must be said that this is not a sanctuary city and that the state has said that it will cooperate fully with ICE and with the authorities. In a press conference, the school administrator said that they will not ask for papers from anyone at this achool and thay this does not at all represent the community and that this is, obviously, an exception. It must also be said that in spite of the fact that this is a horrible incident, obviously, a recent Pew study indicated that undocumenteds commit far fewer crimes in this country, and that there are 80,000 rapes a year in the United States, but, of course, this has been a horrible act.
