The journalistic practice of fact checking the statements and discourses of politicians is currently multiplying as a response to the flood of fake news. Journalists often call this method a “lie detector”. The perfect ocassion for several US media outlets to do this fact checking work was Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. Trump talked about the economy, unemployment, education, social policies, international politics.
He also talked about immigration. On this topic we report on what was verified by Univision News, The New York Times, CNN, NBC and Politifact, from The Poynter Institute (a U.S. journalism research and teaching organization) about the U.S. president’s claims on the wall with Mexico on the 1954-mile border between the two countries, border control and the so-called sanctuary cities.
The Wall
Trump said:
“This will be a tremendous boon to our already very strongly guarded southern border where, as we speak, a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built. We have now completed over 100 miles and have over 500 miles fully completed in a very short period of time. Early next year, we will have substantially more than 500 miles completed.”
Univision Noticias: “Lie” Reporters David C Adams, Daniel Morcate,Juan Tamayo,Tamoa Calzadillay Alfredo Ochoa verified with recent statements from Department of Homeland Security officials that during the Trump administration only a 93-mile barrier that already existed has been replaced with stronger materials, and that the new section that has been started is only eight miles long, of which only one has been built.
The New York Times: “Misleading”. Reporter Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports that the Trump government has built 115 miles of a new wall, mostly to replace ” where dilapidated barriers or vehicle barricades.” The reporter points out that the government does not have all the private land needed to build the wall; also that a court decision that would allow $3.6 billion in military construction funds to be used to build 175 miles in parts of Texas, Arizona and California is being fought; and that in South Texas the plans are to build a 162-mile wall, 144 of which would be on private land.
Politifact: “Needs clarification”. Journalist Miriam Valverde reports that the 100 miles Trump referred to in his speech are new barriers that replaced “old and dilapidated” ones, and that this does not mean that there are 100 new miles along the long border with Mexico that did not exist before Trump became president. She also reports that on the U.S. southwest border there are 654 miles of primary barriers established before Trump arrived. Three years later, she writes, these barriers have only lengthened by one mile, to 655.
Valverde writes that, according to Customs and Border Protection sources, a fund of $11 billion has been set to build 576 miles of barriers, including the 110 miles already built. About half of the barriers would get new barriers to replace existing structures, and the rest would have barriers for the first time, according to the immigration agency.”
Border Control
Catch and Relase
Trump said:
“Before I came into office, if you showed up illegally on our southern border and were arrested, you were simply released and allowed into our country, never to be seen again. My administration is done with ‘catch and release.”
Univision News: “Lie”. Univision’s journalists report that before Trump, undocumented immigrants who were detained at the border were quickly expelled. “‘Catch and release’ refers only to immigrants seeking asylum who were released into the U.S. while their claims were being considered. The vast majority of asylum applications were denied.”
CNN: “Not true.” Journalist Tara Subramaniam also refers to Trump’s mention that released migrants never showed up for their court date. Subramaniam reports that in 2017 most asylum seekers did. According to the Department of Justice, she reported, the rate of no-shows was only 9 per cent in 2016 and 11 per cent in 2017.
Illegal Border Crossings
Trump said: “As a result of our unprecedented efforts, illegal crossings are down 75% since May — dropping eight straight months in a row.”
CNN: “Cherry-picking”. Journalist Daniel Dale reports that Trump is telling the truth about the recent drop in these numbers, but “he is cherry-picking the most favorable starting point”. May 2019, the journalist writes, was precisely the month that saw the most illegal border crossings in the entire Trump administration, 144,166. And he reports that the total number of illegal border crossings with Trump has increased, not decreased, in comparison to the Obama administration. The reporter says that, indeed, from May on the figures dropped to 40,620 by December, which represents a 72% — not 75% — drop.
“But the total number of people apprehended or deemed inadmissible for the 2019 fiscal year was 977,509. That’s the highest number since 2007 and 77% higher than the 553,378 figure for the 2016 fiscal year, President Barack Obama’s last full fiscal year in office.”
Sanctuary Cities
Trump said: “Tragically, there are many cities in America where radical politicians have chosen to provide sanctuary for these criminal illegal aliens. In sanctuary cities, local officials order police to release dangerous criminal aliens to prey upon the public, instead of handing them over to ICE to be safely removed.”
NBC: “This is false.” Jane C. Timm makes clear that while so-called Sanctuary Cities often do not cooperate with ICE requests to sheriffs and officers to detain undocumented immigrants and turn them over to them, they apply their own criminal laws. Timm reports that some police officers say these policies do indeed help fight crime.
The New York Times: “Misleading.” Journalist Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports that Sanctuary Cities policies vary by location, and that in most of them politicians do instruct police departments not to transfer undocumented immigrants accused of committing crimes to ICE, but that they do not automatically release such suspects, only on bail.
Univision: “Lie.” Journalists report something similar to The New York Times, but they add that suspects charged with crimes have to go through a legal process that will first determine if they are eligible for bail. If they do, then they are released on probation.