As the Biden administration released new images Thursday from inside a Border Patrol facility to show how they were allegedly getting a hand on the border crisis, Democratic Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar called them out for playing a “shell game” with migrant kids by just shuffling them around. Of course, Fox News, and surprisingly NBC Nightly News highlighted the administration’s attempted switcheroo. Meanwhile, ABC’s World News Tonight and the CBS Evening News pretended they were blind.
“Now, in March, this facility had 5,000 migrants inside. Average length of stay five days, sometimes 15. That's down to less than 24 hours. Major progress. Today, population about 1,300 here,” reported Fox News correspondent William La Jeunesse on Special Report, teeing up the game Biden was playing.
He added: “Well, that's a little bit of an overstatement. Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat in Texas said they are playing a shell game. Why? Because some of those people were just transferred from the Border Patrol over to HHS facilities.”
Further, La Jeunesse used a drone to show how the “shell game” was being played inside one federal campus in Donna, Texas:
So, if you look at our drone shot, the two tents on the north side or on the top of the screen, that's Border Patrol. Well, the five on the left, those belong to HHS. And that's where some of these individuals are now being housed.
Now, even though they were still refusing to call the situation at the southern border a crisis, NBC News correspondent Gabe Gutierrez highlighted Congressman Cuellar’s comments. “What they're doing now is they're moving the kids from the Border Patrol tents over to next door to the HHS facility. With all due respect, it's all a shell game,” said Cuellar.
“Now an update on the record migrant surge at the southern border and new images from inside a Border Patrol detention facility for unaccompanied children, which one Democrat tonight says are misleading,” announced anchor Lester Holt.
“It's much less crowded than it was months ago, and now officials say children are being kept here for an average of 24 hours, much less than before,” Gutierrez told viewers. “But a Texas congressman, a Democrat who'd previously leaked these photos of packed conditions at the facility in March, says the claim that the problem is under control is misleading.”
As further proof of the administration’s migrant child shuffle, Gutierrez cited the administration’s own numbers:
The number of unaccompanied migrant children in Border Patrol custody has dropped dramatically to around 700. But the number with the Department of Health and Human Services has soared to almost 22,000.
“Officials say 160,000 unaccompanied children are expected to cross the border this year,” he added.
Back on Fox News, La Jeunesse concluded with a warning from the chief of the facility: “He did say that unless the administration delivers consequences to entering illegally, his fear is that it will continue.”
This refusal to cover the Biden administration’s “shell game” with migrant kids was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Fisher Investments on ABC and Liberty Mutual on CBS. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
Fox News Channel’s Special Report
May 6, 2021
6:17:12 p.m. Eastern(…)
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE: Now, in March, this facility had 5,000 migrants inside. Average length of stay five days, sometimes 15. That's down to less than 24 hours. Major progress. Today, population about 1,300 here.
Now, in these pods, they are down from 500 to sometimes 75. The administration released some photos with some maybe a few children inside these foil wrappers. Well, that's a little bit of an overstatement. Representative Henry Cuellar, Democrat in Texas said they are playing a shell game. Why? Because some of those people were just transferred from the Border Patrol over to HHS facilities.
So, if you look at our drone shot, the two tents on the north side or on the top of the screen, that's Border Patrol. Well, the five on the left, those belong to HHS. And that's where some of these individuals are now being housed.
HHS is spending about $60 million a week on tents, on motels, on convention centers around the country. Now, the administration said in a conference call earlier today they are making a dramatic turnaround in this surge, that is not exactly what we are seeing on the ground.
Indeed, about 40 percent of the agents are still not on the line but here in the processing facility. We quoted the chief, he said, they are still seeing about 1800 apprehensions per day. About half of those are single adults and, Bret, he did say that unless the administration delivers consequences to entering illegally, his fear is that it will continue.
