The CBS Evening News reported Thursday night on the issue of children fleeing from Central America and crossing into the United States illegally and included an interview with an Fulbright scholar who conducts research on why these children are leaving in large numbers for the U.S. However, an important detail left out by CBS News correspondent Manuel Borjorquez was that the scholar has scores of fans in the liberal media.
Borjorquez interviewed Elizabeth Kennedy, who refers to herself as “an activist scholar,” and asked her if the Obama “administration coming out and saying, ‘you can't stay here we're going to deport you,’ will actually decrease the flow.” Kennedy said that it would not and responded by saying that: “Until root causes are addressed, until people can feel safe at home, until they are not afraid for their lives, people are going to keep migrating because it is a human instinct to want to survive.” [MP3 audio here; Video below]
While Kennedy seems to be a very accomplished individual, it turns out that she has been interviewed and cited as an immigration expert by liberal outlets such as Mother Jones, Al Jazeera, The Nation, Think Progress, The Michael Smerconish Show, Vox, and The New York Times. With media outlets like these that don’t exactly qualify as neutral sources, it begs to question someone’s neutrality.
In addition, she has published five articles (but none since June 2013) on the website openDemocracy.net, which has quite the donor list. Two of the organizations that currently provide funding for the website are the Tides Foundation and Open Societies Foundation, which are heavily funded by none other than ultra-liberal billionaire George Soros. Other organizations who either still contribute or have contributed to the site in past include the liberal Ford Foundation, New World Foundation, and the global warming group the Oak Foundation.
As the Media Research Center has reported through the on-going Soros Project, George Soros and his fellow liberal donors have been giving billions to activist organizations that promote and advance their liberal and progressive agendas as well as attack conservatives.
The MRC’s Business and Media Institute’s Mike Ciandella reported in August 2013 that, in the years dating back to 2000, Soros “gave more than $550 million to liberal organizations in the U.S.” that promote abortion, euthanasia, unions, and bash “the concept of free elections and voting for judges” that would all fulfill his calls for an “open society.”
The complete and transcribed transcript from the July 25 segment on the CBS Evening News can be found below.
CBS
CBS Evening News
July 24, 2014
6:46 p.m. Eastern
SCOTT PELLEY: Today, California's Attorney General said she is lining up lawyers to represent children from Central America at immigration hearings. Since October, more than 57,000 children have been caught crossing the U.S. border. Most are held in detention facilities until their cases can be heard. Every day, more of these children attempt this dangerous journey, and to better understand why, we sent Manuel Bojorquez to El Salvador's capital.
MANUEL BOJORQUEZ: More than 15 buses arrive every week carrying dozens of young people, some as young as one year old. They fled for the U.S., but were caught in Mexico and deported back to this government processing center. We can't show you their faces for security reasons. This 15-year-old traveled with her baby. What are you looking for in the United States? What do you tell them?
UNIDENTIFIED 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL [IN SPANISH]: A better life.
BOJORQUEZ: A better life.
BOJORQUEZ: "You can't have a good life here," she said. "There are too many problems, too much crime." Her parents left El Salvador 10 years ago for the U.S. She's been trying to join them ever since. This 16-year-old told us she wanted a better future for her son. "It was one of the toughest decisions of my life," she said. "But I'm afraid for my son because of the violence and gangs here so I have to try." On this day, they were among 60 registered at the center. Here, they're asked why they left, warned about the risks of trying again, and then released. When young people return to these neighborhoods, there is no safety net, and most have no faith their government is working to protect them.
ELIZABETH KENNEDY: They are afraid of organized crime. They are afraid of gangs. They are afraid of violence.
BORJORQUEZ:: Elizabeth Kennedy is a Fulbright scholar who has interviewed over 500 Salvadoran children as part of her research.
KENNEDY: It's very common for children here to have already seen a murder. It's common for children to have already lost a family member. That's something no one should have to live with because you're not really living your life if every moment you're afraid you're going to die.
KENNEDY: Over half.
BOJORQUEZ: So you don't think the administration coming out and saying, “you can't stay here we're going to deport you,” will actually decrease the flow?
KENNEDY: I do not. Until root causes are addressed, until people can feel safe at home, until they are not afraid for their lives, people are going to keep migrating because it is a human instinct to want to survive.
BOJORQUEZ: A tough proposition once they return to life outside of these gates. Manuel Bojorquez, CBS News, San Salvador, El Salvador.
