A Sampling Of Conservative Media's Thoughts During Hispanic Heritage Month

Laura Ingraham Mocked MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart For Translating For Spanish-Speaking Guest. On the September 23 edition of The Laura Ingraham Show, the ABC News and Fox News contributor mocked MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart, incorrectly calling him “Mario,” and saying, “I can't even follow what he's saying because it's so herky-jerky.” Days later, Ingraham defended her mockery, claiming she was “just teasing.” [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 9/23/14, 9/30/14]

Ingraham Suggested Migrant Children May Spread Drug “Resistant Forms Of TB” To “Public School Kids Across This Country.” On the September 18 edition of her radio show, Ingraham accused migrant children of possibly spreading drug “resistant forms of TB” to “public school kids across this country.” [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 9/18/14]

Rush Limbaugh Connected Undocumented Immigration To Deadly Enterovirus. On the September 8 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh suggested undocumented immigrants were to blame for the “sweeping mysterious virus that's multiplying across the Midwest,” although in reality the CDC has said “the children arriving at U.S. border pose little risk of spreading infectious diseases.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 10/8/14]

Fox Contributor: Undocumented Immigrants Who Grew Up In The U.S. And Serve In The Military Should “Go Serve In The Mexican Army.” On the September 26 edition of The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, Fox contributor and conservative radio host Mike Gallagher criticized a federal program allowing some undocumented immigrants who grew up in America to serve in the U.S. military and eventually become citizens. Blaming the program on political correctness, Gallagher declared, “Is it asking too much to go out on a limb and say, maybe the people who serve the United States of America are going to be American citizens.” According to Gallagher, this “is not their country,” so “let them go serve in the Mexican army.” [Fox News, The Real Story, 9/26/14, The New York Times, 9/25/14]

Fox Host Bill O'Reilly Chopped Mexican President's Remarks To Push Fiction That He Encourages Illegal Immigration. On the October 7 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly misleadingly chopped Mexican President Peña Nieto's remarks with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, claiming the doctored tape reveals that Nieto is “actually encouraging illegal aliens to come to” the United States:

O'REILLY: And speaking to CNN, the President of Mexico says this.

PEÑA NIETO (voice of translator in video clip): And I think it's unfortunate for a country whose formation and historic origin relies so much on the migration flows of many parts -- Europe, Asia, for instance. I think this is a country whose origin to a great extent is one of migration, and that's why it's unfortunate to hear this exclusionary and discriminatory tone regarding the migration flows into the United States.

O'REILLY: What a bunch of bull. With us now, attorneys and Fox News analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl. So, Wiehl. We'll talk about the Mexican president in a moment. Because he's actually encouraging illegal aliens to come here, so they come here and send money back to Mexico, because President Nieto, for some reason, even though they have oil and two beautiful coastlines, cannot support its own population, so millions of them have to come here.

Immediately following the video clip O'Reilly aired, Nieto explained that migratory flows from Mexico to the U.S. have fallen in part because Mexico is “opening greater opportunities for those who don't want to leave their country.” Remarks O'Reilly did not air in bold:

FAREED ZAKARIA (host): But when you hear some of the anti-immigrant language, the rhetoric, do you think it's racist?

PEÑA NIETO (voice of translator): I think it's discriminatory, yes, and I think it's unfortunate for a country whose formation and historic origin relies so much on the migration flows of many parts -- Europe, Asia, for instance. I think this is a country whose origin to a great extent is one of migration, and that's why it's unfortunate to hear this exclusionary and discriminatory tone regarding the migration flows into the United States. Today, we have to recognize that the migration that comes from Mexico to the United States has fallen. There is a lower number of migrants that balance between those who are coming to the United States and those going back to Mexico. It's practically a zero balance today. And that reflects the fact that in Mexico, we are opening greater opportunities for those who don't want to leave their country or those who have no need to go looking for a new opportunity of personal or professional growth. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/7/14] 

Fox Host Worried That New York's Municipal ID Program Will Give Undocumented Immigrants Voting Rights. On the September 19 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy claimed that New York City's new municipal ID program would allow undocumented immigrants to vote, though in fact New York City's election laws prohibit non-US citizens from registering to vote and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network has said “offering municipal ID cards to all city residents is fundamentally fair.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 9/19/14]

National Review Online Argued That Undocumented Children Don't Deserve Civil Rights. National Review Online complained that the Department of Justice's modest grants to provide legal assistance to unaccompanied children are an Obama tactic to keep these children in the United States. In fact, federal law allows immigrants “the privilege of being represented,” but because the privilege is not guaranteed, thousands of children are forced to represent themselves in court. The DOJ's grants are an attempt to address this “glaring civil rights problem,” and both immigration and law experts have pointed out that Congress has recognized that unaccompanied minors deserve civil rights. [National Review Online, 10/1/14]