Jim Acosta, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, misrepresented part of a speech made by President Trump while he was announcing the rollout of his administration’s new immigration plan on Thursday.
“Our nation has a proud history of affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions. Unfortunately, legitimate asylum-seekers are being displaced by those lodging frivolous claims, these are frivolous claims, to gain admission into our country,” Trump said.
Acosta subsequently tweeted,”Trump in Rose Garden speech paints asylum seekers with broad brush accusing them of misleading immigration authorities at border…”
Trump in Rose Garden speech paints asylum seekers with broad brush accusing them of misleading immigration authorities at border: “These are frivolous claims.”
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 16, 2019
Acosta was called out by reporters for the false description of Trump’s words.
The president explicitly expressed concerns that asylum seekers with frivolous claims are crowding out those with legitimate ones. https://t.co/yN4KNndzLV
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) May 16, 2019
This is just plain false. https://t.co/Sn9IH28b2A https://t.co/pMOsiv9zE4
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) May 16, 2019
NBC justice reporter Julia Ainsley also appears to have mischaracterized Trump’s comment.
Trump: most claims by families cross the border are frivolous. Fact: fewer than 1 percent of families crossing turn out not to be legitimate.
— Julia E. Ainsley (@JuliaEAinsley) May 16, 2019
The proposed changes to the immigration system will pivot toward a new merit-based points system that rewards immigrants with sought-after skills and education backgrounds. The plan does not address the status of young adults who have work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
[Opinion: Trump’s immigration proposal sounds nice, but he’ll probably let his supporters down again]
