Why are so many Americans susceptible to lies peddled about immigration & border issues?
Because from government to journalism, pop culture to consumer tech, a psychology of lethal reality-denial has taken hold, that puts certain vital facts off-limits.
Summary
Americans’ ability to form quality perceptions of our border and immigration issues is dependent on their access to quality, timely information about these matters
We are being subverted in this realm, as our most influential national institutions not only ignore the reality of the threats we face at our border, but attack anyone who tries to expose them as “racists” or “xenophobes”
I recently made the acquaintance of a young-ish police detective, who comes from a long line of police officers. He was one of the nicest American law enforcement, military or national security officers (and retirees!) I've had the pleasure to meet.
As our conversation developed, he became interested in an idea I've been developing: for an Internet video series that will address, in a different way, the claims, controversies and narratives about America’s police officers, and law enforcement institutions. I think he could tell from my demeanor that I am an apolitical person. I believe I told him my basic stance: “I don’t give a damn about political parties or their machinery; I am not and never have been a member of any party. I’m about packaging vital facts about our culture into formats that even an adolescent can understand, and relate to his or her own life.”
Sensing that this is a stance with which he agreed, I offered to send him some examples of my work, so he can see that I’m serious about, and experienced in telling stories that matter to me, in a super-responsible way. Meaning: I always provide my sources, either on-screen, or via a link at the end to a page containing them. He agreed, and today I sent him an email with items I produced in recent years (here, here, here, here).
He indicated that he can think of a few candidates who might be interested in having an initial discussion about this.
In the course of writing my email, I recalled that I actually dedicated a short video to one of his fallen police officer brothers — Corporal Roland Singh (profile), a legal immigrant who was murdered by a illegal alien who’d been arrested multiple times, but never deported, due to California’s “sanctuary” policies.
Here’s my mini-documentary (6 minutes), which was posted on January 4, 2019:
As I was wrapping up my email, I recalled that a fan of the video alerted me to some info that shocked me: how local some “news” organizations were avoiding any indication of the fact that the man charged with murdering Cpl. Singh was an illegal alien (the proper term), who’d been arrested on numerous criminal charges in the past. It was as if these details were over some imaginary red line, that no decent American, or journalist, could disclose or discuss, without facing a severe penalty.
Here is a link to the archived version of a story about Cpl. Singh by one of the most influential news organizations in the area in which he served, Modesto, CA — the Modesto Bee:
Details emerge into shooting death of Newman Police Cpl. Ronil Singh, By Erin Tracy, Modesto Bee, June 2, 2020.
If you search that news story, which was published 18 months after the December 26, 2018 murder of Cpl. Singh, you will find not one mention of his murderer’s (1) immigration status, (2) history of committing crimes on US soil, or (3) the fact that he was shielded from deportation by CA’s “sanctuary” policies.
Now, look at this (archived) headline, and excerpt, from a story published by the South China Morning Post (!) — only three days after Cpl. Singh’s murder:
California sanctuary law under fire after policeman Ronil Singh’s suspected killer, an illegal immigrant, is captured; If the suspect had been deported, Corporal Ronil Singh would still be alive said the sheriff investigating Singh’s killing, South China Morning Post, December 29, 2018. Excerpt:
A suspected drunk driver accused of fatally shooting the California police officer who pulled him over was captured on Friday as he tried to flee back to Mexico, where he lived before illegally crossing into the US, authorities said.
The sheriff whose agency was leading the investigation blamed California’s sanctuary law for preventing local authorities from reporting Gustavo Perez Arriaga to federal immigration officials for previous arrests. If the suspect had been deported, he said, Corporal Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department would still be alive.
So residents of Modesto, CA would have no indication of the murderer’s immigration status - unless someone forwarded to them the link to the South China Morning Post, or another venue that reported it accurately.
If this were an isolated incident of crime perpetrated by illegal aliens on US soil, even those who’d been deported 2, 5, 10, 20 or more times, it would be plausible to consider the above abomination of a “news” article by the Modesto Bee a “mistake,” something that slipped through the proverbial cracks.
It is not.
Examples of other crimes perpetrated on US soil by citizens of other nations who’ve been deported 2, 5, 10, 15 or more times
There are hundreds, if not thousands of such incidents. Yet voting-age Americans who consider them to be up to date on the most important issues of the day, have never heard of them - because our most influential national “news” organizations simply will not report on them.
If you doubt this, consider this report I produced in 2018, that asks — and answers — a simple question:
Who benefits from the lies being spread about the “caravans”?, by Jon Sutz, SaveTheWest, November 3, 2018.
At the bottom of the report, I identified four primary categories of people and organizations — one of which is…
Scan the seemingly endless listing of incidents presented on that page, including (click on locations to see the source story):
Kansas: A Mexican citizen who’d been deported 19 times, after various criminal violations, was able to re-enter the US illegally, again — then allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl
California: A six-year-old boy, Lennox Lake, was left with severe brain injury after a man who’d been deported 15 times was able to re-enter the US illegally, again — rammed into the car in which he was riding. Below is a short video in which Lennox’s mother describes what happened; had you heard his name, or story? I hadn’t — which is why I produced my earlier report:
Oregon: A Guatemalan man who’d been deported twice was able to re-enter the US illegally, again — then was indicted for raping a young girl.
Alabama: An illegal alien who’s been deported twice was able to re-enter the US illegally, again —was convicted for raping a 12-year-old girl.
California: A convicted rapist, who’d been deported at least once, was able to re-enter the US illegally, again.
New York: A man who’d been deported 4 times after various criminal convictions , was able to re-enter the US illegally, again — and was indicted for sexually assaulting a toddler
Oregon: A man who’d been deported 20 times after various criminal convictions was released by local police, again, after they refused to notify federal immigration officials, who wanted to deport him. Once free again, he raped two elderly women. Upon his conviction, he told the victims’ relatives that he’d “see you hell”).
There are innumerable additional incidents such as these (see more at “Stolen Lives” by FAIR) — all of which were reported by local news sources, most of which almost invariably:
Whitewashed the headlines and content to remove any indication that the perpetrator was illegally on US soil
Avoided mention of whether the perpetrator had already committed other crimes on US soil — and whether s/he had already been incarcerated, and/or deported
A few examples:
NY Times: “She Was 92 and Loved Cats. An Attack Left Her Dead on the Street”
The actual story — by the NY Daily News: “NYC sanctuary policy spared undocumented Guyanese immigrant from deportation, left him on the street to rape and murder 92-year-old Queens woman: ICE officials”
CNN*: “Immigrant acquitted of murder in Kate Steinle shooting is not competent to stand trial due to mental illness, evaluator says”
The actual story — by WPTV (West Palm Beach, FL): Undocumented immigrant found not guilty in Kate Steinle murder trial
(*An “immigrant” is one who asked for permission to enter the US, complied with all of our laws and procedures, paid all required fees, and was finally granted citizenship; An illegal alien — like the perpetrator of these crimes — is one who refused to do all those things, yet CNN falsely places him on the same moral and legal plane as an actual “immigrant.”)
NBC Palm Springs (also by a local paper, the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle): Lake Elsinore Man Arrested For Allegations Of Sexual Assault Of 13-Year-Old
The actual story — by The Blaze: Illegal alien charged with over 200 counts of child sex assault in sanctuary California
The key question
If you “identify” as a reasonable, savvy news consumer, let me ask you:
Prior to reading this essay, had you heard of any of these cases?
I certainly hadn’t, until a few years ago: but I had heard rumors and anecdotes from acquaintances in law enforcement and (honest) journalism. And that, along with the insanely stupid, subversive lies spread by our most influential political leaders, is what prompted me to devote months of work to research and produce my report, identifying some of those who benefit from these lies.
The bottom line: We cannot make good decisions regarding our border and immigration situation if provable threats to us and our families are being suppressed, or whitewashed
We Americans, who are supposed to be, as James Madison said, “our own governors,” the people to whom elected officials and “news” organizations are supposed to serve, cannot make wise voting decisions - or to judge the quality of the “journalism” we are getting, if we are shielded from direct, provable threats to our national and individual security.
My conclusion, for your consideration: It’s time to publicly address the issue of how previously-deported criminal aliens are able to walk right back into America, in an evidence-driven national discussion.
This is especially acute as President Biden, at the urging of the most fanatically leftists who are in control of Congress, have effectively implemented an “open-border” policy, they are using tax money forced out of our paychecks to subsidize and protect criminal illegal aliens.
The outcome of this situation will determine whether we are, in fact, the bosses in our system of government, or whether we will accept being placed in grave danger by the very government that we are forced to subsidize.