Univision continues to weigh in with one-sided coverage of the pending Supreme Court battle over President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
In the latest installment of Univision’s reporting on the legal controversy, correspondent Jaime Garcia paraded nothing but Democrat politicians and liberal activists that were unabashedly in the pro-amnesty bandwagon, praising the filing of an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief by business and political leaders.
MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER: A lot of organizations and leaders across the country agree with President Obama and that President Obama is simply using the same authority as other presidents before.
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing President Obama’s immigration executive orders that created the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, commonly known as DAPA. In Texas v. United States, the Department of Justice is asking for the Supreme Court to remove the preliminary injunction slapped by a lower Texas court suspending DAPA. DAPA would give undocumented immigrants temporary legal status and protection, and allow them to apply for work permits.
In the segment, Hincapié is cited by Garcia saying that President Obama’s executive actions are simply an extension of the President’s powers. Completely disregarded is the fact that in the case the Supreme Court is examining another question: whether DAPA violates the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, a clause that has not seen a whole lot of interpretation by the courts.
The Take Care Clause of the U.S. Constitution can be found on Article II, Section 3, Clause 5 of the Constitution, expressly stating that the President must “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” – and the Constitution does not provide for Presidents to rip up the law via executive fiat (excuse me, actions) if they disagree with it.
Univision’s report went on to feature Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who joined with 117 other mayors from cities around the country to submit the referenced friend of the court brief in favor of the President’s executive actions.
ERIC GARCETTI, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: From here we represent more than 50 million people in the United States.
Claiming to represent a vast swath of the American population when increasingly more and more Americans are starting to sour on immigration, as Bloomberg recently reported, is facetious at best.
The segment totally disregards the other side’s arguments, in favor of pushing what appears to be a constant narrative at Univision: that the rule of law and the Constitution should be tossed aside in the name of lawlessness, billing open immigration as a moral good without exploring its implications on both the nation’s economy and security.
The transcript of the referenced portion of Univision’s March 8, 2016 edition of Noticiero Univision can be found below:
NOTICIERO UNIVISION
3/8/2016
6:47:17 – 6:49:41 PM
ARANTZA LOIZAGA, ANCHOR, UNIVISION: An influential coalition of politicians, police and judicial leaders nationwide advocate before the Supreme Court for a ruling in favor of immigration relief that would benefit about 5 million undocumented immigrants. The highest tribunal will have the last word about this immigration executive action that has passed more than a year in the courts. Jaime Garcia talks to us about the support of the so-called “Friends of the Court”.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: As few times in the history of the Supreme Court, a real legal counteroffensive has been prepared on behalf of the executive order of President Barack Obama that would give temporary immigration relief to 5 million undocumented immigrants.
MARIELENA HINCAPIE, DIRECTOR NATL CENTER FOR IMM LAW: By the end of the day today, the Supreme Court will end up receiving almost two dozen legal writings from business leaders, maybe from the biggest tech firms, of educators, including presidents of universities, from religious leaders, including the Catholic Church.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: Its aim is to seek the Supreme Court to remove the order from a Texas court that at the request of 26 states, ruled by Republicans, froze a year ago the entry into force of the DAPA program, which temporarily suspends deportation and gives work permits to undocumented immigrants with children that are citizens or legal residents. Like the expanded DACA benefitted DREAMer students who did not qualify for the current program for three years.
MARIELENA HINCAPIE, DIRECTOR NATL CENTER FOR IMM LAW: A lot of organizations and leaders across the country agree with President Obama and that President Obama is simply using the same authority as other presidents before.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: Other writings in favor of the executive order includes one signed by 225 House Democrats, others by former political officials, including Republicans, and even one signed by former immigration officials.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: The most powerful weapon of these documents being delivered as Friend of the Court to the Supreme Court is that they contain the testimonies of organizations, companies and public officials who live in states that oppose the executive order of President Obama.
ERIC GARCETTI, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, CA: From here we represent more than 50 million people in the United States.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: The Mayor of Los Angeles revealed that another of the writings in favor of the programs DAPA and DACA is signed by 117 mayors from around the country.
ERIC GARCETTI, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, CA: And this is very important, many times these cities are much bigger than the states that are part of the action against the President.
JAIME GARCIA, REPORTER, UNIVISION: In Los Angeles, Jaime Garcia, Univision.
