It only took the Biden Administration six weeks to plunge America into another border crisis, but they didn’t do it by themselves. Spanish-language media had a huge role to play in this crisis by hyping the coming changes to immigration policy, particularly during their coverage of the Biden inauguration.
Here’s a very brief sampling of the raw immigration boosterism that was on display on January 20th, 2021 (click "expand" to view transcript):
ANTONIO TEXEIRA: On his first day in office, there is hope for millions of undocumented immigrants because Biden will offer immigration reform with pathways to citizenship, protections for Dreamers and for the construction of the border wall- to end it.
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MARTÍN BERLANGA: In fact, the news of immigration reform is something that many of us Hispanic journalists have been waiting to report on for decades.
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KARLA MARTINEZ: But for our people, what concerns them most is the immigration issue. He has promised, that in his first days of campaigning, his first 100 days, that he will try to grant the longed-for immigration reform.
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JUAN JOSÉ GUTIERREZ, ACTIVIST: The president, the actual president, not president-elect, Joseph Biden, will send a legislative proposal to Congress to legalize all undocumented workers and their families.
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CRISTINA LONDOÑO: Promises that were made to immigrants are already being kept, with executive orders and the filing of an immigration reform plan.
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NICOLE SUAREZ: And more than one was surprised that Joe Biden announced, even before arriving at the White House, his immigration reform plan that aims to legalize more than 11 million undocumented, and provide them with a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
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BERLANGA: What Biden and Harris have said is that their proposal would restore humanity to the U.S. immigration system
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DANNY VARGAS: I believe that the will is there, that it should be done in this first year, we have many issues, but immigration reform is definitely something that is pending and that is urgent.
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VANESSA HAUC: Our community is now breathing with great hope Dan, because Biden has said that he will send this immigration reform bill (to Congress)
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STACHA PRETTO: [O]n his first day in office, there’s the list. Among these is an immigrartion reform plan that would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented.
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ALAN TACHER: But today there is great expectation because right after Joe Biden's oath of office, he is expected to file his proposal for immigration reform.
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JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ: And the incoming administration will file a bill today, a proposal for immigration reform.
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KARLA MARTINEZ: Well, we were thrilled to hear the news of an immigration reform proposal that incoming President Joe Biden would file today, but there is already talk about a delay if Congress goes through with another impeachment trial for Donald Trump.
As we noted shortly thereafter:
Such single-minded policy advocacy underpins what we’ve been saying for years: that . Tthe nation’s Spanish-language media outlets are comparable to immigration PACs with a broadcast license. This is the regulatory relief they advocate for. Relentlessly and without apology. The rest of the liberal policy pu pu platter is important but immigration liberalization, which guarantees a steady stream of viewers for decades to come, is the Alpha and Omega. This is the deliverable that shall be demanded of the Biden-Harris administration.
Flash forward six weeks, and we see the end result: the return of kids in cages, COVID-positive migrants released into the general community, and a renewed rush to the border. As the weather warms and the border descends into further chaos, it is important to remember the role that Spanish-language media had in fostering the crises we see unfolding.
Remember, it’s what’s best for business:
JORGE RAMOS: I think the future of Spanish-language media is assured for decades, simply, for a very simple reason: Despite of the fact that the majority of the growth within the Hispanic community is coming from people being born here, we still have one to two million immigrants, legally and illegally coming in every single year. Most of them speak Spanish. So, therefore, we have a market that is growing and growing.
And I think we can assure you that in the next few decades, you'll see Spanish-language media. That's another topic completely, but the Latino community is keeping so many elements from their country of origin, including Spanish- 9 out of 10 Latinos speak Spanish...speak Spanish at home- that- and we're doing things that Italians didn't do, or Russians, or Eastern Europeans didn't do- and the closeness to our countries of origin and the communications that we have are keeping Spanish-language media alive. And thanks to that, it's a new power that other immigrant communities didn't have in the past.
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