The Senate last month unanimously (!) passed a spending package that included provisions increasing the number of special visas for Afghan allies by the thousands. That package was also approved by the House in another overwhelming vote, 416 to 11. NBC News’ Sahil Kapur notes “bipartisan agreement” when it comes to assisting Afghans who aided U.S. military, but still claims there’s “a coming political fight” over what he described as a “politically heated issue.”
So who exactly is on the other side of this “political fight” claimed by NBC News? The main quote comes from former White House aide Stephen Miller, who was quoted via text message. So Miller—a noted white supremacist who once reportedly said he’d be happy if not one refugee made it to America—was either sought out for comment or knew he’d have a reporter who’d elevate his words. The report also cited right-wing propagandist Laura Ingraham. I mean, is there really a “political fight” here, or is was this report kinda looking to create one?
“The main person quoted in this article who doesn't support resettling Afghan SIVs and refugees is Stephen Miller,” Roll Call reporter Caroline Simon tweeted. “Worth noting that many Republican lawmakers do support Afghan SIVs, and have been calling for their speedy evacuation.” Immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin tweeted that “Miller is a white supremacist who recently declared that the U.S. should indefinitely halt all legal immigration, a fact which should be front and center in any reporting about him.”
Meanwhile, Daily Kos’ Kerry Eleveld noted in her piece on Wednesday that new Data for Progress polling also shows strong support from Americans for speeding up visas for Afghan allies and their families. “Those who support a streamlined visa process include majorities of Democrats (62%) and independents (56%), along with a 45% plurality of Republicans,” she wrote. This shouldn’t be controversial—maybe it's for that reason that NBC News has to stoop to quoting a famously racist twerp.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Houston, Texas, resident Naqibullah Laghmanai is among those worried about family back in Afghanistan. A former interpreter for U.S. military forces, Laghmanai said in the report that the Taliban has already searched the home of relatives, and he now fears for the lives of his parents and siblings. “Mr. Laghmanai’s family in Kabul had already received a threat from the Taliban and had been in hiding for months because, he suspected, of his work for the U.S. government and his father’s work for the Afghan government.”
The former interpreter said his parents and siblings had applied for special visas, but the process has stretched out to over a year now. Following Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban last weekend, there’s been no more time to spare. “Their only hope is on me to get them out, and I can’t,” he said in the report.
Those are the stories we should be elevating. Instead, mainstream media outlets are really making decisions to elevate white supremacists. Unfortunately, it’s not an isolated problem. Media Matters revealed earlier this summer that major outlets have cumulatively cited anti-immigrant groups in hundreds of articles from 2019 on. Two of the anti-immigrant groups, Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies, are designated hate groups.
Because it needs to be repeated, clearly:
So who exactly is on the other side of this “political fight” claimed by NBC News? The main quote comes from former White House aide Stephen Miller, who was quoted via text message. So Miller—a noted white supremacist who once reportedly said he’d be happy if not one refugee made it to America—was either sought out for comment or knew he’d have a reporter who’d elevate his words. The report also cited right-wing propagandist Laura Ingraham. I mean, is there really a “political fight” here, or is was this report kinda looking to create one?
“The main person quoted in this article who doesn't support resettling Afghan SIVs and refugees is Stephen Miller,” Roll Call reporter Caroline Simon tweeted. “Worth noting that many Republican lawmakers do support Afghan SIVs, and have been calling for their speedy evacuation.” Immigration policy expert Aaron Reichlin tweeted that “Miller is a white supremacist who recently declared that the U.S. should indefinitely halt all legal immigration, a fact which should be front and center in any reporting about him.”
Meanwhile, Daily Kos’ Kerry Eleveld noted in her piece on Wednesday that new Data for Progress polling also shows strong support from Americans for speeding up visas for Afghan allies and their families. “Those who support a streamlined visa process include majorities of Democrats (62%) and independents (56%), along with a 45% plurality of Republicans,” she wrote. This shouldn’t be controversial—maybe it's for that reason that NBC News has to stoop to quoting a famously racist twerp.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Houston, Texas, resident Naqibullah Laghmanai is among those worried about family back in Afghanistan. A former interpreter for U.S. military forces, Laghmanai said in the report that the Taliban has already searched the home of relatives, and he now fears for the lives of his parents and siblings. “Mr. Laghmanai’s family in Kabul had already received a threat from the Taliban and had been in hiding for months because, he suspected, of his work for the U.S. government and his father’s work for the Afghan government.”
The former interpreter said his parents and siblings had applied for special visas, but the process has stretched out to over a year now. Following Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban last weekend, there’s been no more time to spare. “Their only hope is on me to get them out, and I can’t,” he said in the report.
Those are the stories we should be elevating. Instead, mainstream media outlets are really making decisions to elevate white supremacists. Unfortunately, it’s not an isolated problem. Media Matters revealed earlier this summer that major outlets have cumulatively cited anti-immigrant groups in hundreds of articles from 2019 on. Two of the anti-immigrant groups, Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies, are designated hate groups.
Because it needs to be repeated, clearly: