Univision continues its long, storied history of depicting border-security conservatives in an unfavorable light, regardless of the soundness of their proposals or the reasoning behind them. A most recent example is the coverage by Noticiero Univision of the debate between the candidates for an open congressional seat in Northern Virginia.
When asked about her position on immigration reform, Republican candidate Barbara Comstock responded by, among other things, calling for Congress to enact reform legislation, securing the border first, and approaching immigration reform incrementally. There were no calls for mass deportations, no singling out of any ethnic group or anything else that could be considered offensive or outrageous. Here is what Comstock actually said:
Immigration needs to be done by legislation, not executive order. First and foremost, we need to stop playing politics with this, secure the borders and just do it. We know how to do it. FedEx can track packages coming in here all the time, we can track people who are coming into the country and we can do that right…we are a nation of immigrants, and we are also a nation of laws. We can be both…let’s use our technology community and let’s get the immigration issue right.
But sane immigration proposals seldom fly at Univision (or La Opinión, for that matter), and if there is no actual outrage to be peddled, then its viewers shall be fed fake outrage. Here is how anchor Jorge Ramos reported Comstock’s position:
Look at what happened: Republican candidate Barbara Comstock tossed out a phrase that let’s say wasn’t very wise during a debate for Virginia’s 10th congressional district seat. Comstock compared immigrants to FedEx shipping packages. She said if FedEx can track packages that arrive in the United States; the Federal Government should also be able to track undocumented persons who enter the country illegally.
Rather than report the news, Ramos inflames viewers by playing the well-worn grievance card, parroting both Think Progress and the Democratic Party of Virginia. With nothing outrageous to denounce, Ramos is left with suggesting the comparison of immigrants to freight, rather than accurately depicting the call for tracking immigrants using existing technology. Furthermore, Ramos smears Comstock by suggesting that her proposals were directed only at the undocumented, when in fact, Comstock called for the government to track all immigrants.
Given the recent unaccompanied minor tragedy, ISIS claims of infiltration of American soil, and the emerging Ebola crisis, legions of sensible Americans believe the time has come for the U.S. to get a handle on its border, and actually track who enters and exits the country. During these uncertain times, it might also be a good idea for Univision to set aside its partisan agenda and start focusing on reporting the news straight up.
