"In a matter of minutes, relief replaced dread, hope replaced fear," ABC's Barbara Pinto trumpeted in framing a Wednesday night look, at
reaction to a federal judge's ruling barring implementation of key
provisions of Arizona's immigration enforcement laws, around those
pleased by it.
NBC's Lee Cowan relayed how the ruling "certainly came as welcome news" for illegals, "but while some were relieved, others fear the crackdown may come anyway."
An unidentified woman despaired: "I'm worried for my family. I'm
worried for my friends. I worry for my people." Cowan then warned of
danger posed by the majority: "And there are those who worry about a backlash from those angry the court undid what the people of Arizona largely approved."
On ABC, a grocer exclaimed "it's a happy emotion" and "there's a hope,"
before Pinto explained: "Rosario Peralta, who is here legally, watched
customers at her family's grocery store disappear, frightened families
moving out of state. This afternoon, some of them came back."
Pinto moved on to "undocumented immigrant" Erika Andiola who "crossed
the border with her mom, sister and brothers illegally when she was 11
years old, running from domestic abuse." Andiola celebrated: "Yesterday,
I went to bed really depressed, but, this morning, like everything just
came back. Like, the hope, the faith, knowing that all these prayers
are really, you know, working."
Nonetheless, Pinto fretted, "not everyone is happy. Sixty percent of
Americans support Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants." She found
it relevant to point out: "Support for the law is twice as high among
whites than non-whites."
The coverage is a continuation of what a MRC study, released Wednesday, documented. Check out:
Networks Protest Arizona's Immigration Law With Cameras and Microphones [1]; Study: By Almost 10 to 1, ABC, CBS, and NBC Stories Support Amnesty for Illegal Aliens in Arizona
Earlier BiasAlert posts:
Tuesday night: "On Eve of Law, 'Fear-Driven Exodus' from Arizona Distresses ABC [2]"
Wednesday morning: "ABC Continues Attack on New Arizona Law: 'Target: Immigrants [3]'"
Cowan, early July: "NBC Reporter Discovers New Immigration Law Causing Illegals to Leave Arizona. [4]"
From Wednesday's lead NBC Nightly News story:
LEE COWAN: ...Today's ruling may quiet some of the planned protests against the law that some feared might be even bigger than these last week. It certainly came as welcome news for Jose Mario. He's been here illegally for the past ten years and had been preparing his children to move back to Mexico.
JOSE MARIO: Just explain to the kids something happened with the legal situation for the mother and me.
COWAN: But while some were relieved, others fear the crackdown may come anyway.
WOMAN: I'm worried for my family. I'm worried for my friends. I worry for my people.
COWAN: And there are those who worry about a backlash from those angry the court undid what the people of Arizona largely approved. Still, the hold is only temporary and lawmakers who wrote the bill are confident it will eventually prevail on appeal...
From ABC's World News on Wednesday, July 28, transcript provided by the MRC's Brad Wilmouth:
DIANE SAWYER: All right, Bill [Weir], thanks to you. And I know you talked to some of them, but it's estimated that there are one half million undocumented immigrants who came to Arizona illegally. And Barbara Pinto sought some more of them out today, along with the people who support the law and say these immigrants must leave.
BARBARA PINTO: In a matter of minutes, relief replaced dread, hope replaced fear. In this Latino neighborhood in central Phoenix-
ROSARIO PERALTA, GROCER: It's a happy emotion.
PINTO: Happy emotion? What goes through your mind?
PERALTA: That it's going to get better and there's a hope.
PINTO: Rosario Peralta, who is here legally, watched customers at her family's grocery store disappear, frightened families moving out of state. This afternoon, some of them came back.
PERALTA: I was really worried, you know, for all our customers. It's been slow, but thank God, everything's good.
PINTO: In a conversation with Diane Sawyer yesterday, Erika Andiola, a recent college graduate, feared for her future.
ERIKA ANDIOLA, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT: I want to stay here in this country. I mean, this is my home.
PINTO: She crossed the border with her mom, sister and brothers illegally when she was 11 years old, running from domestic abuse.
ANDIOLA: Yesterday, I went to bed really depressed, but, this morning, like everything just came back. Like, the hope, the faith, knowing that all these prayers are really, you know, working.
PINTO: But not everyone is happy. Sixty percent of Americans support Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigrants. Support for the law is twice as high among whites than non-whites.
ANDREW CLARK, PHOENIX RESIDENT: I was in shock and a little bit disappointed.
PINTO: Longtime Phoenix resident Andrew Clark says he's seen the problem first-hand, working in the trucking business.
CLARK: It's just a consistent record of the federal government not doing anything, and that's disappointing.
PINTO: Randy Pullen leads Arizona's Republican party.
RANDY PULLEN, ARIZONA REPUBLICAN PARTY: Well, I think they're celebrating a little early. They might want to wait until the judge has heard all the arguments.
PINTO: The legal wrangling here could take months, even years - a border war that is far from over. Barbara Pinto, ABC News, Phoenix.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here [5] to follow him on Twitter.