As the rubble is still being cleared from the presidential election, the corporate media should reflect on its shamelessly partisan coverage and how it once again failed to gauge voter sentiment. Instead, it is launching a massive campaign to sway public opinion against the priorities of Donald Trump’s second administration, specifically his plan to deport the millions of individuals who entered the country illegally over the past four years.
This may seem like a Herculean lift, given that Trump made immigration reform a cornerstone of his campaign. Voters rewarded him with a landslide victory in the Electoral College and a decisive popular vote margin. Consistent with those results, a majority of Americans now support mass deportations. Undaunted, anti-borders activists in network and cable news are working tirelessly to derail Trump’s immigration policies, using misleading data, selective omissions, and sentimental appeals.
The recent election results show the old media strategy is failing harder than ever.
The campaign began even before Election Day. A week prior, CBS’ once-esteemed “60 Minutes” aired a feature examining what Trump’s immigration policy might entail. Correspondent Cecilia Vega accompanied Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on an arrest, spoke with illegal immigrants facing potential deportation, and interviewed Tom Homan, Trump’s pick for border czar and former acting ICE director. Full disclosure: Homan previously served as a senior fellow at the Immigration Reform Law Institute.
During her interview with Homan, Vega used selective data to argue against mass deportations while disregarding statistics that strongly support the policy. She claimed, without citing a source, that deporting one million illegal aliens annually would cost $88 billion, framing this as an unreasonable and unacceptable expense.
However, Vega omitted a 2023 cost study showing that illegal immigration imposes a total fiscal burden of $150.7 billion on U.S. taxpayers each year. This estimate obviously does not include the additional costs from 2024 or the additional strain on social services intended for U.S. citizens and legal residents. Why continue paying so much for chaos and crime when stable communities could be achieved for less?
The report also featured Jason Houser, a former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration, who portrayed himself as a pragmatic government official in opposition to Homan’s alleged extremism. Houser noted that detaining illegal aliens arrested by ICE costs $150 per night, a figure framed as an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars.
Vega again failed to provide viewers with the complete story. Under the Biden administration’s border policies, the federal government and New York City have been spending an average of $256 per night to house illegal aliens in The Row, a 1,331-room luxury hotel in Manhattan, as well as roughly 140 other properties across the five boroughs. It’s a similar story in Chicago and other large sanctuary cities. A local New York news outlet found that The Row wastes tons of fresh, edible food meant for migrants by throwing it in the trash daily. If fiscal responsibility is the goal, it doesn’t take an economics degree to recognize that ICE detention is the more cost-effective option.
As it has done for years when arguing against border security, the media continues to highlight the most sympathetic individuals here illegally, portraying them as victims of a heartless, xenophobic policy. “60 Minutes” followed this familiar script, featuring a crying woman in Baltimore expressing fear that her family members might be deported.
The report conveniently ignored the most sympathetic victims of illegal immigration: angel families, whose loved ones were killed by violent criminals, drunk drivers, or others who never should have been in the country. Why didn’t the story include families of victims like Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley, or Rachel Morin? And why no mention of the 325,000 migrant children the Biden administration has lost track of, many of whom face risks of sex trafficking and forced labor?
The answer is obvious: “60 Minutes” sought not to provide an objective examination of a complex issue but to deliver propaganda designed to sway public opinion against the Trump administration’s forthcoming enforcement of immigration laws.
As with so many other issues, the corporate media aims to convince you to ignore the reality you observe daily and instead accept the ideologically driven, manufactured narrative it presents. The recent election results show the old media strategy is failing harder than ever.
Illegal immigration, Illegal immigration crisis, Crime, Donald trump, Mass deportation, New york city, 60 minutes, Tom homan, Ice, Jocelyn nungaray, Laken riley, Rachel morin, Opinion & analysis
