Netflix released a strategically timed documentary at the beginning of August called “Immigration Nation.” The mini-series is six episodes of blatant mass-immigration propaganda which aims to attack Trump’s immigration policies and push the “Abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)” agenda.
Amidst the onslaught of emotional appeals throughout the documentary, there are numerous myths pushed by the film’s producers. Below are three of the most egregious falsehoods:
Myth 1: Trump has deported more people than any other President.
One of the main arguments in the docuseries is that deportations have significantly increased under the Trump Administration. This is FALSE. Under President Obama’s first term (2009-2012), ICE Enforcement and Removal Officers (ERO) deported 1,568,278 illegal aliens (not including returns). Under President Obama’s second term (2013-2016), ICE removed 1,495,415 illegal aliens. In the first three years of the Trump Administration (2017-2019), 749,462 illegal aliens were removed by ICE.
Obama was often called the “deporter in chief” by those in his own party who were critical of his immigration policy. However, you don’t see Netflix making a documentary criticizing his actions. In fact, they recently signed a lucrative media deal with the former president.
Myth 2: Immigrants coming over illegally are just “good guys trying to support their families . . . “
Mainstream media and third-party review sites claim the documentary is a “must see” and shows “both sides of the issue.” The argument stems from the fact that crews followed ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on various calls and allowed space for the head of ICE Public Relations to speak on the issues. But producers left out a majority of the story and were very selective about the images they showed.
Crews focused on several storylines all portraying family members separated from their children at the border despite supposedly no prior criminal convictions aside from entering illegally. They claim that two-thirds of all detainees have no prior criminal record. However, they ignore the fact that 91 percent of illegal aliens removed in FY2019 had criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time of arrest.
Additionally, a study conducted by FAIR found that illegal aliens are far more likely to commit crimes than U.S. citizens and lawfully present immigrants. If Netflix showed viewers these facts, it stands to reason that more people would agree that the missions served by ICE and CBP are critical to preserving the interests and safety of Americans, including those migrants who enter the country lawfully
Myth 3: CBP is intentionally funneling people through the most dangerous areas of the borders.
Securing the border at highly populated areas of the country is of priority, whereas the areas where physical boundaries are lacking are often in rough terrain where civilization is miles away. Producers claim this is an intentional act in order to force migrants into the harsh conditions of the terrain. This claim is ludicrous.
In reality, these desolate areas are not priority areas for physical walls simply because they are wide open spaces with very little traffic. This means that if someone does try to illegally enter the U.S., Border Patrol agents can keep tabs on them from border surveillance flights while a team is dispatched to intercept and apprehend them.
Producers interviewed an alleged coyote of the Sinaloa cartel, and he admitted that increased border control and continued construction of the wall makes it harder for these criminal organizations to cross. This is a good thing, because it shows that the wall is successfully preventing not just illegal immigration, but is also keeping violent gang members from entering the country.
The main purpose of a border wall is to discourage and prevent illegal immigration. No immigrant is forced to illegally enter the United States, so suggesting that the government is “funneling” them into a dangerous crossing in the hot desert by building a wall in high-traffic urban areas absolves migrants of personal responsibility for illegal and reckless behavior.
Conclusion
Before you begin watching a new documentary of any kind, it’s important to ask yourself these questions: What message are the producers trying to convey? What is the other side of the story? Who is producing the piece and what agenda are they trying to push?
The mainstream media makes definitive choices about what is included and what is left out when building their narrative. “Immigration Nation” is no exception. Netflix was clearly trying to create a narrative which asserts that every illegal immigrant is simply a disadvantaged person who is looking for a better life, that ICE agents are unempathetic, and that the Trump Administration is actively trying to harm migrants. None of these claims are true. It is important to see the documentary for what it is: leftist, open-borders propaganda.
