Children in cages, teens in horrifying conditions, and humans being kept in “freezers” without access to soap, water or food; these conditions have dominated headlines on both social and mainstream media, but they may not be as accurate as they seem.
While the conditions as described are truly alarming, Vice President Mike Pence recently denounced news coverage as “dishonest,” and stated that agencies like CNN distorted the truth and inflamed public sentiment online, via print and on television.
“So Dishonest
Pence visited the migrant shelters that were described in horrifying detail online on outlets like Twitter. After touring the facility and speaking with families there, he recalled what he saw.
“CNN is so dishonest,” the vice president tweeted after touring the facility with reporters. “Today we took reporters to a detention facility on the border for families and children and all told us they were being treated well.”
CNN, along with many other media outlets covered the tour and took photos; while most networks and media outlets shared images that showed different aspects of the trip, CNN cropped the images to remove Mike Pence from photos featuring interactions with families and children. Instead, the network aired cropped images of Pence and male migrants, many of whom were protesting his visit.
A Crisis at the Border
Pence went on to detail the crisis at the border, as more migrants continue to arrive and facilities and resources are stretched to the breaking point. He went on to explain his remarks about CNN, stating that although he visited camps for both families and convicted criminals captured at the border, CNN framed his visit as one to the men’s facility. Many of the migrants housed here are awaiting trial for crimes in the US or in their native lands; these adult men are in a secure area away from the families and children the group visited.
“Rather than broadcast the full story, showing the compassionate care the American people are providing to vulnerable families, tonight CNN only played video of men in the temporary facility and didn’t play any footage of the family facility at all ignoring the excellent care being provided to families and children,” Pence continued. “Our great @CBP agents deserve better and the American people deserve the whole story from CNN!”
Pence also went on to explain that the men pictured were in a temporary holding space due a failure by House Democrats to allocate funds for beds and additional living space. The Vice President also slammed those in the media and politics that referred to the migrant facilities as concentration camps and that maligned and harassed CPB staff.
“The Nazis killed people. Our Customs and Border Protection as you heard today are saving lives every day,” Pence added.
Other news organizations shared images of the entire tour, showing Pence and other visitors speaking with residents in clean, cared for and provisioned spaces.
