Univision has gone into overdrive to demonize Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, who is still in line for a major Trump administration appointment in federal law enforcement.
The nation’s top Hispanic media conglomerate evidently went after the Trump-supporting Democrat sheriff because of his avowed commitment to federal-local cooperation in immigration law enforcement, a stance which in Univision’s routinely devious and deceptive news vocabulary qualifies him for their harshest possible ‘anti-immigrant’ treatment.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: Clarke, who is a self-proclaimed anti-immigrant, announced this week that he will accept the position of deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The prospect of Sheriff Clarke in high federal office is apparently so terrifying that Univision’s report on the subject went on to pull all the most hysterical possible stops, including raising the spectre of a “police state” and “Hitler’s times.”
JAVIER MAZA, POLITICAL ANALYST: He is an individual who obviously, most clearly, does not qualify for a position of this importance because of his background. And I worry that this will lead to creating a police state that reminds me of history… it reminds me of Hitler's times.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: And it's that Clarke is publicly known for supporting anti-immigrant measures, and agrees with police officers, as well as other local authorities, collaborating with federal immigration laws.
It should be noted that Univision’s deception in the report extended as well to its on-screen description of Javier Maza as an ‘independent political analyst.” The reality is that on U.S. domestic political news, Maza’s analysis has long been consistently favorable to the Democrats.
Sheriff Clarke's vociferous support of the Department of Homeland Security's 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement agencies to cooperate in the enforcement of federal immigration law is likely a major reason why Univision decided to aim its heaviest rhetorical weapons against him.
Univision’s reporting has increasingly avoided acknowledging the basic distinction between immigrants who are legally living in the country and those who have violated U.S. immigration laws. Instead, immigration law enforcement is portrayed as a persecution of ‘all immigrants’ and no quarter is given to the concept that being pro-immigration law enforcement is not equal to being anti-immigration.
In view of this report, an obligatory question to Univision correspondent Danay Rivero would be: why would Sheriff Clarke not agree with the enforcement of the law, when it is his job to do so? That is the role of law enforcement officials. Why does that make him ‘anti-immigrant’ when all he stated was that he would "use all resources available to [him] as the sheriff of Milwaukee County” to enforce the law?
Below is a complete transcript of the above-referenced report, as aired on the May 21, 2017 edition of Noticiero Univision, Fin de Semana.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: The controversial sheriff of Milwaukee County is in the eye of the hurricane after a CNN investigation revealed that he committed plagiarism in a portion of his master's thesis about security and privacy. He failed to cite sources at least 47 times. Clarke, who is a self-proclaimed anti-immigrant, announced this week that he will accept the position of deputy secretary in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
JAVIER MAZA, INDEPENDENT POLITICAL ANALYST: He is an individual who obviously, most clearly does not qualify for a position of this importance because of his background. And I worry that this will lead to creating a police state that reminds me of history… it reminds me of Hitler’s times.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: And it's that Clarke is publicly known for supporting anti-immigrant measures, and agrees with police officers, as well as other local authorities, collaborating with federal immigration laws.SHERIFF CLARKE, COUNTY OF MILWAUKEE: I’ve made it clear that in helping President Trump, in dealing with the serious problem of illegal immigration, that I was going to use all resources available to me as Sheriff of Milwaukee County.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: For this, residents of his county have already taken to the streets to ask for his removal from office, in fear that once he occupies a federal position, he will attack immigrants. In fact, the sheriff, who supports the ideas of President Donald Trump, has stated that, Black Lives Matter, which defends the civil rights of the African American community, is a terrorist group and collaborates with the Islamic state. However, there are public officials in his district who defend him
INTERVIEWEE: He has a strong hand to deal with crimes in my area.
DANAY RIVERO, CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: For his part, Sheriff David Clarke responded with respect to the accusations about possible plagiarism in his Twitter account saying: "CNN's modus operandi of investigation on the mediocre @KFile is to accuse of plagiarism. I am the next. They did it Rand Paul, Monica Crowley and others." But this is only one of the controversies that follow David Clarke. He is also being investigated for the death of four people in the Milwaukee jail. In addition, a resident filed a lawsuit against him for being arrested and questioned by officers in an illegal manner. That is all from me.
