The evening network news coverage of President Joe Biden’s upcoming executive order on the border crisis was, for the most part, predictably focused on the politics of the matter. And, across the board, this coverage unanimously omitted one piece of major news.
Most representative of this coverage was the CBS Evening News. Watch the full report, as aired on Monday, June 3rd, 2024 (click “expand” to view transcript):
CBS EVENING NEWS
6/3/24
6:38 PM
NORAH O’DONNELL: President Biden is under intense political pressure to curb illegal immigration. It's a top concern for voters, one that Donald Trump and his allies have seized on. And tomorrow Biden is expected to take action issuing a major executive order allowing him to partially shut down the asylum process at the southern border. CBS News was the first to break the story, and tonight our Nancy Cordes is at The White House. Nancy, good to see you. So I understand this is going to be the most restrictive border policy ever enacted by a Democratic president, why now?
NANCY CORDES: Well, Norah, The White House had been hoping that Congress would take this step. It didn’t. This represents a major change to immigration policy, and we’re told that the president is going to sign this executive order tomorrow. CBS News has learned that this new order will allow U.S. immigration officials to deport migrants without processing their asylum claims any time the number of illegal border crossings tops a specific threshold, and sources tell CBS that threshold is likely to be 2500 migrant apprehensions a day. Which means this partial ban could be triggered on day one because the number of apprehensions at the southern border in May was higher than that. It was 3800 a day according to the Border Patrol. Right now, of course, asylum-seekers are allowed to stay in the U.S. until their case is processed, which can take years. And critics say that creates an incentive for those who don't qualify to come to the U.S. anyway. This new executive order is almost certainly going to face legal challenges down the road. The White House appears to be going this route now because Republicans rejected a bipartisan senate deal that would have done something similar. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Nancy Cordes with that big news tonight. Thank you so much.
You have it all, really. CBS’s report boils down to concerns over Biden’s electoral prospects, and lamentations over the fact that Republicans didn’t codify 4,999 illegal crossings into law- leaving Biden to use executive authority to try to fix the mess he made via executive authority when he ripped the border open on Day One.
ABC News followed a similar pattern:
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, President Biden preparing to take his most aggressive action on immigration yet, with plans to issue an executive order to effectively shut down the border to asylum seekers when migrant crossings surge. Sources tell ABC News when daily encounters reach 2,500 between ports of entry, asylum seekers would be turned away. The move could have an immediate impact. Migrant crossings have averaged 3,500 a day in recent weeks. The president, keenly aware that immigration is a top issue for voters, has been weighing how he can act alone, after Donald Trump urged Republicans to block a bipartisan deal their own party negotiated.
Protect the Precious at all times, in and out of season.
NBC took a significantly different approach in that Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro steered away from domestic political implications and covered the likely meltdown to come from the Immigration-Industrial Complex:
LINDSAY TOCZYLOWSKI: This really what sounds like a draconian and potentially unlawful immigration shutdown of the border.
Vaqueiro closed out his coverage by exposing a major loophole in the executive order: The unaccompanied minors exception.
VAQUEIRO: Today President Biden spoke with Mexico’s president-elect. As for tomorrow's executive action, it’s expected to include some exceptions,humanitarian exceptions including one for unaccompanied children.
That exception becomes increasingly relevant when taking notice of the related news item suppressed across the dial: the Biden administration’s decision to kill 350,000 asylum cases- effectively, a mass amnesty.
As reported by the indispensable Jennie Taer over at The New York Post:
While the Biden administration is attempting to look like it’s getting tough on the border, behind the scenes it’s operating a program of “mass amnesty” for migrants, The Post can reveal.
Data show that since 2022, more than 350,000 asylum cases filed by migrants have been closed by the US government if the applicants don’t have a criminal record or are otherwise not deemed a threat to the country.
This means that while the migrants are not granted or denied asylum — their cases are “terminated without a decision on the merits of their asylum claim” — they are removed from the legal system and no longer required to check in with authorities.
The move allows them to legally, indefinitely roam the US without fear of deportation, effectively letting them slip through the cracks.
That’s kind of a super important point to cover when reporting on matters pertaining to immigration and the border. But, as always, the Regime Media’s focus is to Protect the Precious and to cast President Biden as the purest, truest victim of any of a wide assortment of (often self-induced) calamities.
SORR OF UNRELATED NOTE BUT NOT REALLY: It was refreshing to watch folks actually SPEAKING ENGLISH on a network newscast (as did Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro for NBC and TelevisaUnivision anchor Enrique Acevedo for CBS during their respective coverages of the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as the next president of Mexico), as opposed to the weird, verby Newspeak so prevalent today.
Click “expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective newscasts on Monday, June 3rd, 2024:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
6/3/24
6:35 PM
DAVID MUIR: Meanwhile, there is a developing headline tonight involving the U.S./Mexico border. This evening, sources now say President Biden is preparing to take tough executive action on immigration, including shutting the border when the number of asylum seekers reaches 2,500. It would trigger an immediate shutdown. It comes tonight as the new president of Mexico, their first woman president, a physicist and engineer, has already signaled she will work with the U.S. on immigration. Rachel Scott at the White House.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, President Biden preparing to take his most aggressive action on immigration yet, with plans to issue an executive order to effectively shut down the border to asylum seekers when migrant crossings surge. Sources tell ABC News when daily encounters reach 2,500 between ports of entry, asylum seekers would be turned away. The move could have an immediate impact. Migrant crossings have averaged 3,500 a day in recent weeks. The president, keenly aware that immigration is a top issue for voters, has been weighing how he can act alone, after Donald Trump urged Republicans to block a bipartisan deal their own party negotiated.
JOE BIDEN: There's no guarantee that I have that power all by myself without legislation. And some have suggested I should just go ahead and try it.
SCOTT: The U.S. has seen a record 6.4 million illegal border crossings during the Biden administration. Officials say the numbers have dipped in recent months, because Mexico is cracking down on their side of the border. And the U.S. will soon have a new partner. Mexico tonight electing its first woman and first Jewish president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, a physicist with a doctorate in energy engineering who won the Nobel Peace Prize. Sheinbaum is vowing to continue the policies of outgoing president Lopez Obrador working to control the flow of migrants. And David, and back to that executive order, this could have an immediate impact for those who are seeking asylum. The number of migrant encounters at the border already far exceeds that threshold. The White House and the Biden administration fully aware this will likely be challenged in court. David.
MUIR: Rachel Scott with a developing headline from The White House tonight. Rachel, thank you.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
6/3/24
7:06 PM
LESTER HOLT: Facing high numbers of migrant crossings at the border, NBC News has learned President Biden is expected to take executive action tomorrow, right on the heels of Mexico's historic presidential election. Telemundo's Julio Vaqueiro is in Mexico City.
JULIO VAQUEIRO: Facing mounting pressure over his handling of the border, NBC News has learned that the Biden administration is expected to announce a sweeping executive action that would allow the president to temporarily shut down the border if the number of illegal crossings reaches 2,500 a day, according to three people familiar to the discussions. There are currently more than 4,000 illegal border crossings every day according to Homeland Security, suggesting a shutdown could go into effect immediately. This policy is a reversal from the president's stance in January.
JOE BIDEN: I've done all I can do.
VAQUEIRO: With the presidential election approaching, Mr. Trump routinely slams president Biden over his handling of the border.
DONALD TRUMP: They're pouring through every state, every state is now a border state.
VAQUEIRO: Now President Biden is trying to institute restrictions similar to those Mr. Trump tried to enact in 2018, which courts struck down.
LINDSAY TOCZYLOWSKI: This really what sounds like a draconian and potentially unlawful immigration shutdown of the border.
VAQUEIRO: This announcement, on the heels of history in Mexico.
CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM: ¡Viva Mexico! [ Cheers ]
VAQUEIRO: Claudia Sheinbaum won yesterday's presidential election, becoming the first woman and the first Jewish president in the country's 200-year history. The climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City will now be tasked with working with the U.S. to contain the flow of migrants at the border.
ANA MARIA SALAZAR SLACK: I'm sure we're not going to have any major announcements of changes or proposals until it’s defined- find out who's the next President of the United States.
VAQUEIRO: Today President Biden spoke with Mexico’s president-elect. As for tomorrow's executive action, it’s expected to include some exceptions,humanitarian exceptions including one for unaccompanied children. Lester.
HOLT: Julio Vaqueiro. Thank you.
