Most media outlets have dedicated very little time to the illegal immigrants tearing down a barrier and stampeding across the border in El Paso, Texas.
The footage showed the Texas National Guard becoming overwhelmed by a crowd of rioting migrants tearing the barrier open and storming across the gap. This event occurred as Texas has fought legal battles with President Joe Biden’s administration to allow officials to arrest illegal immigrants and add extra barriers.
CBS News became the sole main cable network to cover the rioting Thursday night, spending 37 seconds on the “chaotic scene,” according to the Media Research Center. ABC and NBC News reportedly did not dedicate any of their evening airtime to the incident.
This is the moment when TX National Guard became overrun by migrants rioting to get across the border here in El Paso today
We were there and saw it all happen. Absolute chaos here. pic.twitter.com/VN6Kf663ie
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough held up a cover of The New York Post during Friday’s program and spent the segment blaming former President Donald Trump for the immigration crisis. The program dedicated the remainder of its coverage to former President Donald Trump’s legal woes, the Israel-Hamas War and an exclusive interview with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. (RELATED: Laken Riley’s Father Speaks Out For First Time, Accused Biden Of Using His Daughter)
“The only thing the Post didn’t tell you is Donald Trump said blame me for this! Donald Trump said kill the bill! And blame me for everything that happens after this point,” Scarborough said. “Donald Trump said blame me. So, yes, Donald, we are blaming you, we blaming mini-me Mike Johnson for following your orders, we’re blaming Republicans who begged for a tough border bill, but like the Wall Street Journal editorial page said, couldn’t take yes for an answer. So yes, there is an onslaught in the southern border still, and it’s all Donald Trump’s fault.”
“CNN This Morning” spent no time covering the incident. “CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta” briefly covered the moment before shifting the border discussion to the $1.2 trillion spending bill introduced by the House, which intends to fund more taxpayer dollars to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and add more border agents. The segment on the storming lasted for roughly one minute.
MSNBC’s “Ana Cabrera Reports” spent about three minutes covering the event.
Immigration has risen to the top issue for voters ahead of the 2024 election as a record number of illegal immigrants have been apprehended and released into the U.S. A Gallup poll found that 28% of voters named immigration to be their number one issue, followed by government 2o% considering government as the most important issue.
Border apprehensions surged once President Joe Biden assumed office and scrapped the “Remain in Mexico” policy and “Title 42” that had been enacted during former President Donald Trump’s administration, according to Customs and Border Protection. The apprehensions surged from over 400,000 during Trump’s final year in office to over 1.7 million in Biden’s first year. These numbers have since exceeded 2 million in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.