On Thursday, Univision continued to advocate for a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation as the means to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants (see here and here). The latest push comes as Univision kicks off its newscast with the meeting between Vice President Kamala Harris and immigration activists over DACA.
Watch as anchor Patricia Janiot framed the report early on: “We are going to start with the meeting that Vice President Kamala Harris held at the White House with activists and young dreamers to send a strong message to Congress that the time has come to legalize hundreds of thousands of dreamers”:
PATRICIA JANIOT, ANCHOR, UNIVISION: We begin this Thursday with the meeting that Vice President Kamala Harris held at the White House with activists and young DREAMers in order to send a forceful message to Congress: that the time has come to legalize hundreds of thousands of DREAMers.
(....)
JANET RODRIGUEZ, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, UNIVISION: (Both) Harris and President Joe Biden are now committed to supporting that the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants comes to pass via the budget reconciliation process in Congress- the only viable way through which to achieve legalization this year.
(....)
JANIOT: And how is the budget reconciliation process that could legalize these young people and millions more progressing?
RODRIGUEZ: Patricia, the Senate is currently drafting what would be included in the budget, which might include a pathway to legalization. But in reality, there are still many critical votes remaining in order to determine whether Democrats will be able to use this political maneuver to legalize thousands, millions of undocumented immigrants; and this could be delayed, Patricia, until September.
The message, Janiot further stated, has gained urgency because a “Texas judge declared DACA illegal and banned new applications for those who want to avail themselves of this immigration protection program.” Left unsaid, however, was the fact that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program has never been legal, and has yet to resolve the issues it was created for by the Obama administration; that is, to give the beneficiaries US citizenship.
While the report featured elite activist Lorella Praeli from Community Change Action (who previously served with the ACLU, the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign, and United We Dream), it was Janiot who advocated for the “political maneuver to legalize thousands, millions of undocumented immigrants”, as White House correspondent Janet Rodriguez summarized the immigration-via-reconciliation scheme stuffed within Biden's infrastructure bill.
Janiot threw one last advocacy dart in closing, when she asked: “Janet…how is the process of the budget reconciliation that could legalize these young people and millions more, progressing?”
Rodriguez's answer, however, allowed for a (very) possible defeat: “Unfortunately, there are still many critical votes to determine whether Democrats will be able to use this political maneuver to legalize thousands, millions of undocumented immigrants, and this could be delayed, Patricia, until September.”
The report is further proof that Univision is, at its core, a left-wing immigration advocacy PAC with a broadcast license.
Who sponsors bias like this at the Latino networks? Advertisers like AT&T, for one. Write them here to let them know how you feel about it.
Click "Expand" to read the full transcript of the segment mentioned above:
Noticiero Univision
July 23, 2021PATRICIA JANIOT: Hello, this is Patricia Janiot. We begin this Thursday with the meeting that Vice President Kamala Harris held at the White House with activists and young DREAMers, in order to send a strong message to Congress that the time has come to legalize hundreds of thousands of DREAMers. The message has gained urgency because a Texas judge found DACA to be illegal, and banned new applications for those who want to avail themselves of this immigration protection program. Janet Rodriguez is in Washington to tell us about the outcome of this meeting.
KAMALA HARRIS: Diana would you please share?
JANET RODRIGUEZ: Diana Bautista had to speak with Vice President Kamala Harris today from her home in California. Diana applied for DACA benefits a few months ago but remains undocumented thanks to a federal judge's ruling in Texas that halted new applications to the program, including her own.
DIANA BAUTISTA: … a cause of my anxiety, many people don’t understand that and that is something that I shared with the vice president.
RODRIGUEZ: Seated at the table with Harris were DACA recipients and activists like Lorella Praeli who have been fighting for years for a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of young DREAMers.
LORELLA PRAELI: It was very clear to me in this meeting that the Vice President is committed and we as a community, as advocacy organizations, are going to make sure that it is not an empty promise.
RODRIGUEZ: Harris and President Joe Biden's commitment now is to support the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants through the budget reconciliation process in Congress as the only viable way to achieve legalization this year.
HARRIS: ...so we will be tireless in fighting for a pathway to citizenship....
RODRIGUEZ: We will fight tirelessly for that legalization, the Vice President said.
PRAELI: She...she was very clear. This is going to be very difficult because so many people are against us.
RODRIGUEZ: Harris invited the group in order to draw attention to the challenges posed by the Texas court ruling that leaves about 80,000 new DACA applicants in limbo. Erika Ayala tells us that no promises were made at the meeting- they only reaffirmed the administration's commitment to support the cause.
ERICA AYALA: It's about time for Congress, the vice president and the president to do something for us.
JANIOT: Janet, thank you for this report. And how is the budget reconciliation process that could legalize these young people and millions more progressing?
RODRIGUEZ: Patricia, the Senate is currently drafting what would be included in the budget, which might include a path to legalization. But unfortunately, there are still many critical votes remaining in order to determine whether Democrats will be able to use this political maneuver to legalize thousands, millions of undocumented immigrants, and this could be delayed, Patricia, until September. Back to you.
JANIOT: The wait continues. Thank you Janet.
