Along with celebrating older Americans pretending it’s the 1960s all over again by becoming hooked on marijuana and lamenting the Supreme Court gave President Trump the green light to continue mass deportation raids in cities like Los Angeles, Monday’s CBS Evening News provided yet another example of the liberal bias that ombudsman Ken Weinstein and hopefully future CBS News executive Bari Weiss can fix.
The topic? A possible incoming shortage for in-home nursing workers because of President Trump ending a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans stemming from Hurricane Mitch...in 1998. And yet, the liberal media peddle a sob story about individuals who did nothing for over a quarter century to go further in obtaining permanent residency or citizenship.
One could presume the liberal media have a different definition of what “temporary” means.
“Families caring for the elderly or disabled can face difficult choices, giving a loved one at home often requires home-health aides,” co-anchor Maurice DuBois began, followed by co-anchor John Dickerson saying what’s already “a shortage” could worsen given “changes in immigration policy[.]”
Correspondent Elaine Quijano opened with a predictable, perfectly curated anecdote:
QUIJANO: Eddie Weinstein’s stroke paralyzed the right side of his body and left his daughter Caroline scrambling.
CAROLINE WEINSTEIN: I knew the only way that he would survive and I would survive would be to have him live at home with care.
“MARCIA”: And I’m gonna give you some water.
QUIJANO: In 2020, Marcia became their home health aide.
WEINSTEIN: It was the first time since my dad’s stroke I could trust somebody to know he would be okay.
QUIJANO: Marcia is 53. She’s from Honduras and is afraid to show her face publicly, but she spoke to us about caring for others as a home health aide.
“MARCIA”: That’s what I love to do. I don’t see myself doing anything else — just taking care of the elderly.
Quijiano explained that Marcia’s time in America “began 25 years ago after Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras and she was granted Temporary Protected Status, giving her legal authorization to work in the U.S.” But TPS, Quijiano noted, ended September 8 “for over 50,000 Hondurans[.]”
Like the marijiana story, there was only a very short acknowledgment of Americans not feeling the same way:
“MARCIA”: Sometimes I feel sad, sometimes I feel angry.
QUIJANO: But some might say, well, we can’t let it keep continuing forever.
“MARCIA”: Sigh. They should give us a path for a green card, because we are in the system already. 25 years paying taxes.
Again like a good PR-stitched story, Quijiano included sound from a wider interest group. In this case, it was a New York City-based school many immigrants attend to receive training for home health care:
QUIJANO: Marcia got her training at sunny side Community Services in New York where 90 percent of home health aides are foreign-born. Judy Zangwill is the executive director.
JUDY ZANGWILL: We are concerned about it — about how it could exacerbate already a nationwide shortage and could result in a shortage for us as well.
A few moments later and back live, Quijiano gave away a few important details about Marcia’s story and how she inexplicably hasn’t done anything to move toward citizenship, having family, or something else that would increase her chances of changing her immigration status: “Marcia isn’t sure what she’s going to do next. She’s essentially alone here in the U.S. and it’s been decades since she was last in Honduras.”
To see the relevant CBS transcript from September 8, click here.