As a committed cheerleader of the caravans of foreign nationals currently making their way through Mexico to the United States, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos has shown himself adept at playing up the presence of children, downplaying the presence of both criminals and non-Central Americans, and most of all avoiding the fact that the vast majority of the people in the caravans do not even come close to qualifying for political asylum in the United States in the first place.
In his latest pro-caravan ploy on CNN, Ramos pulled out all the stops. He failed to acknowledge reporting on his own newscast that Mexican authorities have identified “many problematic people” in the second of the several caravans currently headed our way. He also falsely stated that the United States is the “only opportunity” for Central Americans seeking to leave their countries, when in fact Mexico is offering them the opportunity to obtain refugee status in Mexico.
JORGE RAMOS, ANCHOR, UNIVISION: I didn't see criminals or rapists or terrorists. What I saw, and I don't want to be overly dramatic, is that I saw this: I saw kids. Like this one. Or even this one. I saw an 8-month old girl. I saw a 4-month-old boy and they are part of people who are fleeing extreme poverty, who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing gangs and their only opportunity is the United States…
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Most of these refugees, because they're not even immigrants, want to apply for political asylum right at the port of entry. And once they're there, we can check their backgrounds, that’s very simple.
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Again, I want to emphasize the fact that what I saw were kids. I saw single mothers with children, I saw many families and of course many young men and women who are escaping gangs.
Most importantly, Ramos studiously ignores the fact that the caravans are part of a massive, ongoing attempt to circumvent U.S. immigration laws and continue overwhelming the country with asylum claims that have no merit. As Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently explained, “the asylum statute is not a general hardship statute…the mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes…such as domestic violence or gang violence… cannot itself establish an asylum claim” Sessions emphasized when announcing last June new limitations on U.S. asylum claims.
In addition, Ramos avoided mentioning a report on his own network about the presence of Bangladeshi nationals who were seeking to infiltrate the caravans.
Below is the transcript of cited parts of the above-referenced segment, as aired on the November 1, 2018 edition of Anderson Cooper 360.
ANDERSON COOPER, ANCHOR, CNN: At times like this we often turn to Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, who has been reporting, as have CNN correspondents, from the caravan. I spoke to him just before airtime. Jorge, the President continuing this narrative, painting the caravan as an invasion, these people as invaders. The fact is, I mean, it is not an invasion. It’s not even at the border. It’s a thousand miles away from the border. Yet, the President keeps peddling this lie.
JORGE RAMOS, ANCHOR, UNIVISION: Yes, and it's simply a lie. It is not an invasion. I spent two days with the caravan last week, and I didn't see criminals or rapists or terrorists. What I saw, and I don't want to be overly dramatic, is that I saw this: I saw kids. Like this one. Or even this one. I saw an 8-month-old girl. I saw a 4-month-old boy. And they are part of people who are fleeing extreme poverty, who are fleeing violence, who are fleeing gangs, and their only opportunity is the United States. And I am concerned that we're going to have a stronger military presence with Mexico than in Iraq and Syria. And that the most powerful army in history is going to be used simply because of political purposes.
COOPER: I mean, certainly, in any crowd of thousands of people, there must be people with criminal records or who have committed crimes in the past.
RAMOS: Sure.
COOPER: And certainly, immigration is a legitimate issue. A lot of voters say it is what they care about most. I guess something I don't understand is, why the President has to use misinformation to try to achieve some sort of immigration reform other than the fact that it's a political ploy and he's used this strategy before and, frankly, it's worked for him, and it's, you know, five days from the midterms.
RAMOS: And it is possible that we might find gang members among the 7,000 members of the caravan. It is possible. I don't know exactly who they are. But it is very simple. Most of these refugees, because they're not even immigrants, want to apply for political asylum right at the port of entry. And once they're there, we can check their backgrounds. That's very simple. Now, also, I've heard the President saying there's a lot of money passing hands. I didn't see any of that. I didn't see any proof of financing by George Soros, or by the dictatorships in Nicaragua and Venezuela. As a matter of fact, what I saw is people who are so poor, they don't even have $1 to buy a bottle of water. So, the image that the President is presenting to the American people is a complete lie. I didn't see any of that, Anderson. Absolutely any of that.
COOPER: Do you -- also, the President seems to be painting this image that U.S. troops are going to be manning the borders with, you know, with rifles and bayonets out and stopping people from crossing over. Every military expert I talked to points out that the U.S. military would only be used in support roles, just like the National Guard has been in the past. They're not actually supposed to have any interaction with anybody, with any migrant. I'm wondering when you hear the President saying that if migrants throw rocks or stones at troops, that he's telling them they should shoot back. I mean, that's against every rule of engagement the U.S. military has. I don't know any commander that would order his troops to do that.
RAMOS: And it's a humanitarian crisis. Again, I want to emphasize the fact that what I saw were kids. I saw single mothers with children. I saw many families, and, of course, many young men and women who are escaping gangs. They don't want to be members of gangs. And those are exactly the people that conform, not one, but at this point, three caravans. And we are really, that's a fact, we are really dealing with a humanitarian crisis.
