Is Our Immigration System Really Broken?
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Claim 1: "About 40% of immigrants in the U.S. illegally have overstayed their visas."
(Truth about the claim) A Pew report published in May 2006 says, "that 40 to 50 percent of people living in the United States entered the country legally through ports of entry." According to the website Politifact the numbers were just an estimate based on 1997 numbers. As stated from Politifact the government has not published any new estimates. So for the first claim Fox was semi-right but not entirely, the numbers were pretty much just made up for many years ago. They are right to say people have over stayed their visas because there have not been any real current numbers since 1997.
Claim 2:"Obama's plan says that path to citizenship shouldn't be contingent on heightened border security measures."
(Truth about the claim) Obama says that the plan SHOULDN'T be contingent on security but according to Politifact he has mixed feelings. Obama stated,"They wanted more agents on the border. Well we now have more boots on the ground on the Southwest Border than at any other time in our history." There are currently 21,000 agents on border control and the 2012 budget was increased for border patrol as stated on Politifact. So Obama says it shouldn't be contingent on security but he has increased border patrol and budgets have increased to get more border patrol. So I would say Obama thinks it is needed and that border patrol should be increased
Source- Fox News
Motivation- This has been a big issue and talk about reform as stated in the video started in 2008. It is currently being brought up because Obama has made a speech about an immigration reform that should take place.
Evidence- According to Politifact the 40 to 50 percent of immigrants who have overstayed visas was just an estimate and it had been based on numbers from 1997. Also Obama says that citizenship should not be contingent based on heightened security yet as stated on Politifact the security along the border has grown.
Logic- The logic is that the news wants people to understand why the border needs to be closed. They are trying to make it seem like the immigrants are bad people and don't really do anything for our country. The news people want to get rid of the immigrants and want the public to understand why.
Left out- Left out the facts about how they have worked on the fence and also how the number of border patrol has gone up. Also maybe they should be more clear about the pathway to citizenship because in this video it is somewhat unclear as to what it takes to be a citizen. There were also facts on the side the came up but I feel like those were more important to talk about.
Source- Fox News
Motivation- This has been a big issue and talk about reform as stated in the video started in 2008. It is currently being brought up because Obama has made a speech about an immigration reform that should take place.
Evidence- According to Politifact the 40 to 50 percent of immigrants who have overstayed visas was just an estimate and it had been based on numbers from 1997. Also Obama says that citizenship should not be contingent based on heightened security yet as stated on Politifact the security along the border has grown.
Logic- The logic is that the news wants people to understand why the border needs to be closed. They are trying to make it seem like the immigrants are bad people and don't really do anything for our country. The news people want to get rid of the immigrants and want the public to understand why.
Left out- Left out the facts about how they have worked on the fence and also how the number of border patrol has gone up. Also maybe they should be more clear about the pathway to citizenship because in this video it is somewhat unclear as to what it takes to be a citizen. There were also facts on the side the came up but I feel like those were more important to talk about.
President Obama Unveils His Immigration Plan
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Claim: Billions of dollars were spent to beef up the "high-tech" security
(Truth about claim) As said in an article on Politifact, "Congress has approved $1.2 billion to pay for the fence-about half its estimated cost." This shows that yes the claim is indeed true and it is not just truthiness.
Source- Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor
Motivation-Obama let the people know his plan for immigration and many people had opinions about the issue
Evidence- In an article on Politifact it says, "Congress has approved $1.2 billion to pay for the fence-about half its estimated cost."
Logic- The news is trying to show people that senate and the president do not agree on things. They are trying to make President Obama's plan sound like it is a bad idea, and to some people it is but they want everyone to know.
Left out- They should include the type of jobs they have because most immigrants are taking jobs that most other Americans would not do. They could have also mentioned the number of border patrol because yes there are no fences that work but there are border patrol.
Source: FOX NEWS, Sean Hannity
Motivation: I feel that they reported on this issue because of the recent annoucment by President Obama on Immigration reform.
Evidence: MediaMatters.org reported “Right-wing media figures have responded to immigration reform by invoking the oft-repeated conservative argument that legalizing immigrants will enlarge the “welfare state.” In fact, the announced immigration reform proposal would prevent newly legalized immigrants from receiving federal benefits for an extended period of time; moreover, immigrants in general are less likely to receive welfare benefits.”(HANNAH GROCH-BEGLEY, 2013). They continued and cited the website www.chpp.org Center on Budget Policy Priorities where the Chpp reported “Immigrant eligibility. Federal law bars states from using federal TANF dollars to assist most legal immigrants until they have been in the United States for at least five years. This restriction applies not only to cash assistance, but also to TANF-funded work supports and services such as child care, transportation, and job training. A substantial percentage of poor children have non-citizen parents who are ineligible for TANF benefits and services." (Policy Basics: An Introduction to TANF, 2012)
Logic:The evidence shows us that someone cannot claim welfare or other government assistance without following other checks. The new reform would call for a 5 year waiting period for new immigrants to gain government benefits.
Left Out:I feel that the news anchors spoke rash, and they didn't really think about what they were saying. They might believe that this new policy would open many doors to immigrants although in reality it would not open doors for them to receive instant government assistance.
Truth,False or Truthiness: Truthiness
Monica Crowley states in this video that for years the U.S. government has failed to secure their boarders and they they have stood by to see them be open to illegal immigrants.
Source: FOX NEWS,
Motivation: Responding to the recent 8 bipartisan senators coming out with their own immigration reform plan before President Obama's was released.
Evidence: Reported from the ICE, Immigration Customs Enforcement, statistic website showing that in the last 4 years its been at its highest. (Immigration Customs Enforcement,2012) Further on the CBP, Custom Boarder Patrol, that they have spent more in the last decade than any other decade previous.(U.S. Border Patrol, 2012).
Logic: In reality in the last decade millions of dollars has been spent on the board to enforce it. There are more and more people deciding not to cross due to a high capture rate. With the capture rate at its highest in the last 4 decades it shows that the government is improving and showing that they are securing their border.
Left out: I think that Monica could have worded her statement better. She could have defined it better than it came out. Yes people still can cross the border, but its not like walking down the street. The steps that the CBP has put in place has made it much more difficult. She did not mention that crossovers into the USA has been at a all time low for the first time since before the sixties ,as stated by the CBP.
True, False or Truthiness: Truthiness
