The July border crossing numbers were out on Tuesday and they showed a massive surge in arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border. But according to the misinformation from ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday, that surge didn’t exist and crossings were actually down. They also threw in some sob stories about so-called “asylum seekers” on the streets of New York City (a sanctuary city), while ignoring abused border towns.
Twisting the border numbers, correspondent Stephanie Ramos proclaimed: “Unlawful entries along the southern border have decreased 70 percent from the record-highs since the end of Title 42 in May, according to the Department of Homeland Security.”
But according to a lamenting Washington Post article from Tuesday, “Border arrests surged in July, a blow to Biden migration plan.” “U.S. agents made more than 130,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, preliminary figures show, up from 99,545 in June,” they added.
Ramos’s claim also obfuscated the fact that border crossings tended to decrease during the summer months anyway because the heat made the journey even more dangerous. So, it meant something that the numbers were spiking besides that historic trend.
“The spike in illegal crossings was most pronounced in the deserts of southern Arizona, despite daytime temperatures that often surpassed 110 degrees. U.S. agents there made about 40,000 arrests in July, the highest one-month total for the Tucson sector in 15 years,” The Post said.
Instead of giving viewers the truth about the border crossing numbers, Ramos decided to tug on their heartstrings by highlighting “the line of asylum seekers in Manhattan outside the Roosevelt Hotel grows.”
“The [Roosevelt] hotel is both an arrival center for migrants where they can get vaccines, food, and other resources. But it is also a humanitarian relief center that is housing families with children,” she added.
What she failed to disclose was the fact that the asylum-seeking process only allowed for a fraction of the people applying to be accepted. The definition of an asylum seeker was narrowly tailored because it’s separate from the normal immigration process and was meant for individuals oppressed and targeted by the governments in their home countries, and evidence of that was required.
But that didn’t deter her from exploiting a couple of families:
RAMOS: We met this family from Venezuela. Andreas arrived by himself last year, his wife and 4-year-old daughter followed in May.
Spent five days in the jungle. She says it was very, very difficult.
RAMOS: Many of the people in line over the last several days have been single men. But there are single moms, too. Migrants like Vanessa tell us the journey from Honduras has been dangerous and exhausting, but she risked it all for her sons.
She says they were hungry. They were cold. But she made it.
Ramos didn’t share what the crisis was doing to border towns that were being abused by the federal government.
ABC’s omission of July spike in border arrests was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from IBM and Disney. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript was below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
August 2, 2023
7:15:53 a.m. EasternMICHAEL STRAHAN: We’re going to turn to the showdown over the migrant crisis on the border and in major cities like New York. Migrants here are sleeping on sidewalks as they wait for space in shelters. Stephanie Ramos has the latest.
[Cuts to video]
STEPHANIE RAMOS: This morning, New York City officials are calling on the federal government for help as the line of asylum seekers in Manhattan outside the Roosevelt Hotel grows. The hotel is both an arrival center for migrants where they can get vaccines, food, and other resources. But it is also a humanitarian relief center that is housing families with children.
We met this family from Venezuela. Andreas arrived by himself last year, his wife and 4-year-old daughter followed in May.
Spent five days in the jungle. She says it was very, very difficult.
RAMOS: Many of the people in line over the last several days have been single men. But there are single moms, too. Migrants like Vanessa tell us the journey from Honduras has been dangerous and exhausting, but she risked it all for her sons.
She says they were hungry. They were cold. But she made it.
RAMOS: Unlawful entries along the southern border have decreased 70 percent from the record-highs since the end of Title 42 in May, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
ABC’s Mireya Villareal traveled to the border where a 1,000-foot floating barrier of large buoys sits across the Rio Grande forcing migrants into deeper water and then through razor wire along the banks of the river.
People here that traveled with us have said if groups want to get around this barrier, they'll find a way.
The Justice Department is now suing Texas after Governor Greg Abbott refused to remove the barrier.
[Cuts back to live]
Here in New York migrants from various countries say they just want a chance to work and start a new life. New York's governor and New York City's mayor have urged the federal government to expedite work permits for the thousands of asylum seekers here in New York City. Michael?
STRAHAN: Stephanie, thank you so much.
