Days after giving viewers a small glimpse into the chaos at the U.S./Mexico border that included illegal immigrants sleeping on the streets of El Paso, Texas, Friday’s CBS Mornings put forth a different narrative blessed by the Biden administration that there’s noting to see here and we should all remain calm.
In other words, CBS correspondent Manuel Bojorquez set out to be the living embodiment of epic memes starring Kevin Bacon from Animal House and the late Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun.
Co-host Nate Burleson set the table:
Turning to how the U.S. is handling the migrant crisis. A record number of migrants are being apprehended at the border. Manuel Bojorquez has been reporting from a processing center in El Paso. That's where some asylum seekers hope they will be among those allowed to stay in the U.S.
Bojorquez laid it on thick, showing someone barefoot in the desert with the voiceover: “These are their first steps into the United States. Migrants arrive here sometimes nervous, often exhausted, but hopeful.”
Much of the piece consisted of interviews with three illegal immigrants with much the same story. Bojorquez said the first told him in Spanish that “you see hope and opportunity, not only for you but for your family that's left behind,” with another sharing how they had “been traveling for a month” through “seven countries” from Venezuela that resulted in multiple deaths along the way.
Turning to the setup just steps inside the U.S., a DHS official showed Borjorquez around, partnering with calm and orderly footage as if to show that the border crisis is actually a ripple (click “expand”):
DHS OFFICIAL: This is the initial screening and vetting where we medically screen, identify, classify them.
BOJORQUEZ: This mobile processing center is seeing an average of 1,500 migrants a day, about half of them from Venezuela. [TO DHS OFFICIAL] How does that change the equation for you?
DHS OFFICIAL: Well, unlike the Mexicans and Central Americans that we can process under the CDC authority of Title 42, we are having to process the people coming from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua under our Title 8 authorities.
BOJORQUEZ: Meaning they're usually released and allowed to request asylum, a process that typically takes years to complete. But not everyone is allowed in. CBP says more than 1.3 million migrants were reported or expelled so far this year.
Of course, Borjorquez circled back to end with more fluff: “Julie Jimenez Gonzales fled Cuba and is hoping to reach relatives in Tampa. [INTERPRETING GONZALES] You want to be free and reunite with your family. A long journey with longer still to go.”
Back in reality, the border crisis is anything but orderly as, instead, it’s been marred by numerous drownings, children abandoned in the desert, fentanyl coming across that’s resulted in over 100,000 dead Americans in 2021, illegals found dead in a tractor trailer, and terrorists blending in with the general population.
Friday’s installment of state-run TV was brought to you by advertisers such as Hershey’s Almond Joy and Progressive. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcript from September 23, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
September 23, 2022
7:12 a.m. Eastern[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: America’s Immigration Crisis; Inside Look at How El Paso, TX Is Dealing with Migrant Influx]
NATE BURLESON: Turning to how the U.S. is handling the migrant crisis. A record number of migrants are being apprehended at the border. Manuel Bojorquez has been reporting from a processing center in El Paso. That's where some asylum seekers hope they will be among those allowed to stay in the U.S.
MANUEL BOJORQUEZ: These are their first steps into the United States. Migrants arrive here sometimes nervous, often exhausted, but hopeful. [TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT] So, you see hope and opportunity, not only for you but for your family that's left behind. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Fabricio Hoyos has been traveling for a month. [TO HOYES] So, almost a month on the road. [SPEAKING SPANISH]
FABRICIO HOYOS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
BOJORQUEZ: Seven countries. [SPEAKING SPANISH] A dangerous journey from Venezuela where he says others died along the way while crossing through a jungle. [TO HOYES] You'd rather risk your life over this one-month journey over staying in Venezuela.
HOYOS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
BOJORQUEZ: There's no guarantee.
HOYOS: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
BOJORQUEZ: Can't buy medicine. No education. The migrants' processing happens under this bridge next to the border.
DHS OFFICIAL: This is the initial screening and vetting where we medically screen, identify, classify them.
BOJORQUEZ: This mobile processing center is seeing an average of 1,500 migrants a day, about half of them from Venezuela. [TO DHS OFFICIAL] How does that change the equation for you?
DHS OFFICIAL: Well, unlike the Mexicans and Central Americans that we can process under the CDC authority of Title 42, we are having to process the people coming from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua under our Title 8 authorities.
BOJORQUEZ: Meaning they're usually released and allowed to request asylum, a process that typically takes years to complete. But not everyone is allowed in. CBP says more than 1.3 million migrants were reported or expelled so far this year. A greater number than those still in the U.S. Still, critics say the Biden administration's policies incentivize migrant crossings. Julie Jimenez Gonzales fled Cuba and is hoping to reach relatives in Tampa.
JULIE JIMENEZ GONZALES: [SPEAKING SPANISH]
BOJORQUEZ: You want to be free and reunite with your family. A long journey with longer still to go. For CBS Mornings, Manuel Bojorquez, El Paso, Texas.
(....)
8:01 a.m. Eastern
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Migrant Influx]
BURLESON: We visit a processing center in El Paso, Texas dealing with the growing number of people needing asylum.
BOJORQUEZ: This mobile center is seeing an average of 1,500 migrants a day. About half of them from Venezuela.
