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Last night @NBCNightlyNews, @gabegutierrez did a report on Biden's new immigration bill and they decided that they should have on a leader of a hate group with deep ties to white nationalism on to criticize the bill using myth and division.
@NBCNightlyNews, @gabegutierrez had Dan Stein of The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) a radical anti-immigrant group founded by a white nationalist that looks to masquerade as a think tank to peddle junk data and xenophobic policies. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/federation-american-immigration-reform
FAIR, founded by white nationalist John Tanton helped found a network of anti-immigrant hate groups who have pushed anti-immigrant legislation and xenophobia into the mainstream for the last several decades. Culminating w/ their influence on Trump Admin. https://americasvoice.org/blog/trump-administration-and-white-nationalists/
The Tanton network deeply influenced Trump and Stephen Miller's cruelty and chaos approach to immigration, banning Muslims, separating families, ending DACA. https://americasvoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/steven-miller-white-nationalist.pdf
Trump often cited language pushed by Tanton and his network. One of the most egregious was use of the term “immigrant invasion.” That was the title of a book Tanton co-authored in 1996. A sentiment echoed but the white nationalist El Paso shooter in 2019 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/it-had-nothing-to-do-with-us-restrictionist-groups-distance-themselves-from-el-paso-shooter-who-shared-similar-views-on-immigrants/2019/08/08/c44dd7f8-b955-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html
Despite the known and deep connections to white nationalism @NBCNightlyNews, @gabegutierrez thought FAIR had something their millions of viewers needed to hear WITHOUT providing context that it is a hate group with deep ties to the Trump Admin.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of important questions and details that @NBCNightlyNews, @gabegutierrez could have expanded on in the segment without turning to a hate group. 75% support the ideas in Biden's plan, maybe explain what it could mean for them. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/17/americans-broadly-support-legal-status-for-immigrants-brought-to-the-u-s-illegally-as-children/
No one is saying @NBCNightlyNews, @gabegutierrez should be uncritical or not to ask tough questions about the plan. But featuring a hate group only serves to legitimize them and to confuse your viewers unnecessarily.
If we as a nation are going to begin to address the looming issues in our nation that lead to an insurrection at the Capital and the national guard having to protect the inaugural today quality news organizations like @NBCNightlyNews cannot further fan the flames of xenophobia
