Month after month, the Biden presidency saw record-breaking crossings of borders. Between July 2021 and June 2022, there were 2,361,553 crossings. Only 146 minutes were covered on network night newscasts during that period. Just 15 minutes in June. There were only eight cases in May. (See my study.)
CBS worried about illegal border crossings from Canada back in the Trump presidency. Today, it’s been four years since. CBS This MorningsThe urgent need for security at the border (Canadian), was highlighted.
Here’s Gayle King on August 6, 2018: “CBS News has learned that the number of people illegally crossing the United States northern border is up 142 percent.”
Reporter Don Dahler explained that in Vermont there’s areas with no security. Talking to a border agent, Dahler looked at a rickety gate and wondered: “Does this represent the physical security infrastructure along the northern border?… A gate with a lock?”
Border patrol agent Norm Lague replied: “This is a part of that, yes.” Dahler explained the threat from Canada:
Norm Lague, the Border Patrol Agent in Charge here, is responsible for stopping drug traffickers, criminal gangs and undocumented immigrant. We were shown the back roads and farms as well as waterways that allow for easy access to Canada and the U.S.
And yet, now that the southern border is in full crisis, networks like CBS don’t care at all.
More examples are available from the NewsBusters Time Machine weekly flashback series. Go here.
Below is a transcript from the segment of August 6, 2018. For more information, please click the “expand” button.
CBS This Morning
8/6/18
7:41 am ETGAYLE KING: CBS News reports that illegal immigrants are increasing by 142 percent at the US northern border. In just six months, border agents stopped 445 Canadians entering the United States. That’s compared to the 184 who were apprehended last year. Don Dahler travelled to Derby Line in Vermont to see the security situation near the U.S./Canadian border.
DON DAHLER, Good morning. This is the northern border. It actually runs right through Haskell Free Library & Opera House. I’m standing in Vermont. If I take a step that way, I’m in Quebec. You can clearly see that crossing the border is not difficult, even though this was originally intended. It is also very hard to secure. The only barrier keeping people from this far-flung corner of New York is the unguarded steel fence. Is this the security infrastructure at the northern border’s physical borders?
NORM LAGUE : Yes, this is part of it.
DAHLER: The gate that has a lock.
LAGUE: That’s — yes.
DAHLER Norm Lague is here as the agent for border control and responsible for stopping illegal gangs, drug dealers, and undocumented migrants. We were shown the back roads and farms as well as waterways that allow for easy access to Canada and the U.S.
LAGUE : Unfortunately, we can only cover a fraction of the border.
DAHLER: This 5,500-mile border between the United States and Canada is one of the most important land borders in the world. Every day, it is crossed by more than 400,000 people with more than $1.6 million in goods. The northern border border agents apprehended 3,027 persons last year. The southern border agents caught more than 300,000.
LAGUE: It is much larger than the northern border. We don’t have the same resources as those at the southern border and it is difficult terrain to work in.
DAHLER: Official ports of entry such as this floating dock at Lake Champlain, are often unmanned at night. Agents at the border rely on residents to report possible crossings. Many sensors are deployed near the northern border with motion detectors or cameras. The trick is to get a border patrol agent on the scene quickly and efficiently when they detect someone crossing. Sometimes, it is as easy as paddling across a lake or walking through a clearing 20 feet wide in the woods to get into the U.S. It doesn’t matter if you check in with anybody. I’m not seeing any markers on this lake.
PORTER FOX, Northland Author: The vehicle is pretty well unmarked. It can travel wherever it pleases as long as no land obstacles are in the way.
DAHLER: Porter Fox is author of the book Northland, his three year exploration of what he calls America’s forgotten border.
FOX: Only terrorists known to have been arrested crossing into America by land were those from North America. It was not established in the same time period. This border was established as the most friendly between countries in the world. This cross-border trade is responsible for seven million American jobs. There’s a lot at stake up here in the north.
DAHLER: There are many businesses that cross the northern border, and there is illegal traffic both way. A Canadian was convicted last year of smuggling guns through this library to Canada.
VLAD DUTHIERS: Don Dahler is reporting from the scene with a fascinating story.
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