In a 6-3 ruling late Tuesday, the Supreme Court’s conservative justices approved a lower court decision that forced the Biden administration to reinstate former President Trump’s so-called “remain in Mexico” policy for asylum seekers. And while the morning newscasts of ABC and CBS only briefly mentioned it Wednesday morning, they moved on by the evening while NBC Nightly News dedicated an entire report to whining about it.
“A major defeat in the Supreme Court for the Biden administration,” lamented anchor Lester ‘fairness is overrated’ Holt with the words "stunning defeat" over his shoulder. “The court ordered the government to resume a Trump-era immigration policy forcing asylum applicants to wait outside the U.S.”
Justice correspondent Pete Williams almost immediately jumped into suggesting the conservative justices were fine with the conditions migrants were subjected to in Mexico. And he had a little help from the ACLU:
WILLIAMS: Tens of thousands lingered in makeshift tent cities. Human rights groups said many were attacked by criminals and drug gangs.
OMAR JADWAY (ALCU Immigrants’ Rights Project director): People were kidnapped. People were raped. All kinds of terrible things happened to these people while they were trying to get protection under the laws of the United States.
WILLIAMS: But lower courts ordered the Biden administration to reinstate remain in Mexico and late Tuesday night, the Supreme Court refused to intervene.
“The court's three liberals said they would have blocked the program,” he touted.
After noting “Texas and Missouri had sued to get it going again,” Williams seemed to scoff at their argument that “when President Biden stopped it, the number of migrants trying to enter the country skyrocketed because migrants know that even though the vast majority of asylum claims are rejected most people are released in the U.S. to wait.”
But to his credit, Williams did speak with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R), who called out the massive amount of illegal immigration occurring since President Biden came into office:
It takes that incentive away and I think you'll see a reduction in numbers. I mean, over 1.1 million people have illegally entered the country at least that we know of since January. We have to be able to stem that tide and take control of our border.
Williams did give liberals a bit of more positive news from their perspective as he was wrapping up, noting that “the U.S. can't simply restart the program on its own. It'll require the cooperation of Mexico, which isn't happy about this development.”
Their lamenting of the reinstitution of an effective Trump-era policy was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Capital One and Farmers Insurance. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC Nightly News
August 25, 2021
7:16:25 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: A major defeat in the Supreme Court for the Biden administration. The court ordered the government to resume a Trump-era immigration policy forcing asylum applicants to wait outside the U.S. Pete Williams now with late details.
[Cuts to video]
PETE WILLIAMS: It's one of the first things President Biden did after taking office, ending a Trump administration program known as remain in Mexico. It required people seeking asylum to wait outside the country while their claims were considered.
Tens of thousands lingered in makeshift tent cities. Human rights groups said many were attacked by criminals and drug gangs.
OMAR JADWAY (ALCU Immigrants’ Rights Project director): People were kidnapped. People were raped. All kinds of terrible things happened to these people while they were trying to get protection under the laws of the United States.
WILLIAMS: But lower courts ordered the Biden administration to reinstate remain in Mexico and late Tuesday night, the Supreme Court refused to intervene. The court's three liberals said they would have blocked the program.
Texas and Missouri had sued to get it going again arguing that when President Biden stopped it, the number of migrants trying to enter the country skyrocketed because migrants know that even though the vast majority of asylum claims are rejected most people are released in the U.S. to wait.
ERIC SCHMITT (Missouri Attorney General): It takes that incentive away and I think you'll see a reduction in numbers. I mean, over 1.1 million people have illegally entered the country at least that we know of since January. We have to be able to stem that tide and take control of our border.
[Cuts back to live]
WILLAIMS: But the U.S. can't simply restart the program on its own. It'll require the cooperation of Mexico, which isn't happy about this development. Lester.
HOLT: Pete Williams at the Supreme Court, thanks.
