ABC and NBC Describe Arizona Law as 'Anti-Immigration' and 'Harsh'

Network anchors can't resist misconstruing Arizona's upcoming immigration enforcement law. The latest instances came Friday night when ABC and NBC caught up with news that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told an interviewer in Ecuador that the Obama administration will sue to block the law.

Diane Sawyer erroneously described the anti-illegal immigration measure as "Arizona's controversial new anti-immigration law" while Lester Holt, filling in on the NBC Nightly News, characterized the law as "harsh," relaying:

There's been a stir this week over something Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Ecuador earlier this month. She suggested the federal government would sue Arizona over its harsh new immigration law designed to identify and deport people here illegally.

Sawyer delivered this short item on ABC's June 18 World News:

An update on Arizona's controversial new anti-immigration law. A lot of reaction to a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said the Obama administration will sue that state of Arizona. Sources tell ABC News that the Justice Department is nearly done reviewing the law and barring anything unforeseen, is all but certain to take Arizona to court in the next few weeks.

- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.