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CNN speculates injured El Paso victims afraid to go to hospitals because of immigration status

August 4, 2019 | | Print Article

In what appears to be an attempt to link President Donald Trump to the El Paso shooting, CNN claimed on Saturday that some victims of the mass shooting “likely” avoided seeking medical treatment because of their “immigration status.”

The implication was that the Trump administration’s tough but widely supported policies against illegal immigration — a CBS poll from two months ago found that three-fourths of Americans believe illegal aliens should indeed be detained and deported — were responsible for this alleged fear.

“There’s going to be identification and then, of course, family notification, which they clearly want to do before. And you’re just going to have an issue of whether people had identification and what is their legal status,” CNN contributor Juliette Kayyem, a former Obama administration official, said around on Saturday afternoon, shortly after local El Paso officials held a press conference about the shooting.

“This is a community that is racially diverse. And actually, the sergeant had alluded to this, and I just have a recommendation to local officials that they’re worried that the wounded either walked away or that people are not reunifying with their family because of their immigration status,” she continued. “I think that El Paso should make it very, very clear that there will be no immigration enforcement at either the family unification centers or the hospitals, because as the sergeant said, this is a concern.”

She then added, “It’s clear there are people who are not reunifying with their family, and there are people that are worried and injured that did not go to hospitals likely because of the immigration status and that’s something that El Paso should get ahead of if they’re concerned about it.”

Take a listen to Kayyem’s comments below:

Notice how her remarks were laced with her opinions. Note also how she spoke of El Paso Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Robert Gomez having allegedly “alluded” to (versus explicitly mentioned) the purported medical care problem during the press conference held moments earlier.

Why are these observations important? Because there is no other record of the sergeant having said anything about illegal aliens. Moreover, no other news outlet — save for those that have shared CNN’s claims — has reported that there are concerns by the El Paso Police Department about illegal aliens refusing medical assistance because of worries over their immigration status.

CNN’s claims have been shared thousands of times since Saturday by various “reporters,” media outlets and left-wing activist groups, all under the dubious guise of there being “concerns” about this alleged issue of illegal aliens not seeking out medical assistance:

One of the outlets that chose to parrot CNN’s claims was The Guardian.

“David Stout, El Paso county commissioner, told the Guardian he was concerned about reports that some victims or relatives might be afraid to go to reunification centers or seek medical attention due to their immigration status. He said he had not directly heard these accounts, but was worried people might be deterred since there were border patrol agents involved in the response,” the outlet reported.

The report linked back to the CNN clip above that was shared by disgraced Vox “reporter” Aaron Rupar. A report by Slate did the same thing.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus got in on the action as well, issuing a statement that cited “troubling reports” of illegals refusing medical treatment.

“Hispanic Americans and immigrants have been directly and violently attacked,” caucus chair Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said in a statement. “This crime was intentional violence to strike fear in our communities, for our lives, and for our families.”

He added, “In the aftermath, I’ve heard troubling reports of victims of the shooting refusing to seek help because of their immigration status. If you need medical attention or help finding a loved one, do so immediately. There are community groups ready to assist you.”

But it appears there haven’t been “troubling reports” — there’s just been the ONE report from CNN.

It’s unclear why, if CNN’s claims are valid, they haven’t been confirmed by any other outlets. Some critics believe CNN and those sharing its claims are “playing politics”:

Below is the previously mentioned press conference. Feel free to see for yourself whether you can find any spot in which the police sergeant referenced illegal aliens not seeking out medical treatment:

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Vivek Saxena
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