Jayapal: ‘Fearmongering’ by Reporting Things That Happened Is ‘Part of the Problem’ of Support for Mass Deportations

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and host Joy Reid blamed “fearmongering” in the form of factual reporting on crimes committed by migrants for support for mass deportations among Democrats and Hispanics.

While discussing Democrats and Hispanics who support mass deportations, Reid said, “[T]his is one of the reasons that people have this sort of thinking: Here’s the three cable networks’ reporting of this. Our banner said, ‘Soon: Biden Announces Legal Protections for Undocumented Spouses of U.S. Citizens.’ CNN’s banner said, ‘Biden Announc[ing] New Protections for Some Undocumented Spouses.’ Here was Fox’s banner, ‘Migrant Arrested for Raping 13-Year-Old New York City Girl.’ And so, I think that’s part of the problem, right? Is that you have a lot of fearmongering.”

Jayapal responded, “Exactly, that’s part of the problem. Exactly. And we know that when people have economic insecurity, when they’re facing high childcare costs, when they’re facing high housing costs, they are concerned for themselves. And so, anybody who comes into a space of that economic insecurity and says, hey, why are these people getting something that you’re not getting? It does turn people against those people, whether they agree or don’t agree that they have — that they’re helping the country. The economics of immigration are absolutely, you can’t argue with it. We have brought in so much money through immigration, and the surge in immigration has already brought in so much money and will continue to do so.”

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