A set of readings/videos that were fact-based was really refreshing after a week of mass spreading of misinformation surrounding immigration in the US. I’d like to talk about this more in class a little bit, since it was just beginning when we last held class, but I think the story of the Haitian migrants in Springfield, OH is incredibly important right now.

I mean, just this morning, J.D. Vance was pressed on CNN about spreading that misinformation. This was the interaction:

VANCE: “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” the Ohio senator said.

CNN’S DANA BASH: “You just said that this is a story that you created.”

VANCE, “It comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield thanks to Kamala Harris’ policies. Her policies did that. But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”

Let’s sit with that for a second.

“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

He tried to spin the comment into “creating focus,” but it has been proven time and time again that this story is false. And now those migrants are fearing for their lives, there are bomb threats and acid throwing, and the Proud Boys allegedly showed up. The power of misinformation is really on display here.

Ok, I’ll be done with that for now, because these readings laid out the facts. I really appreciated the fact-based argument from the Center for Migration Studies of New York. Using statistics and charts lays out the arguments clearly – I thought the economic impact was particularly well-explained as it pertains to the workforce.

I also appreciated Burgess’s comparison of Trump’s mass deportation plan to Operation Wetback, and why Trump’s plan would differ drastically from the operation he seeks to replicate on a much larger scale – how it “misrepresents the context and impact of Eisenhower’s policy while ignoring the vastly changed landscape of U.S. immigration today.”

Blizter also uses a fact-based argument to say that Biden’s executive order is more likely a political move to show Republicans that he is also tough on the border – as the PBS News video stated – even as it is likely ineffective and so vastly different from the bipartisan border-security bill that he had pushed for: “From a policy perspective, though, it’s difficult to see how this order would concretely address a sudden, or even a gradual, jump in new arrivals.”

Blitzer also gives a great summary of the situation as the election nears: “Judging from the polls, voters remain deeply confused about what Biden can realistically control regarding the forces of global migration. Republicans are capitalizing on the situation, and Trump is using language that’s grown openly racist and fascistic.”

Immigration came up a lot in the debate between Trump and Harris, and Trump received pushback for pushing his followers to block the bipartisan legislation. We shall see if Harris also wants to carry out the border policies that Biden did.