Trump official on Fox: Refugees wanting a better life are 'attack' on US

Fox News and the Trump administration continue to work hand-in-hand to demonize migrants who are escaping threats to their lives in Central America.

Outgoing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) head Thomas Homan appeared on “Fox and Friends,” Trump’s favorite morning news show and the one from which he has apparently taken many of his policy cues.

Homan declared that the human rights caravan that has made its way through Mexico and is now at the U.S.-Mexico border is “an attack on the sovereignty of this nation.” While admitting that “some” had a credible claim while asking the American government for asylum, Homan quickly asserted that “many are taking advantage of a system with loopholes in it.”

That argument reflects a common claim that Trump, who has openly been racist toward Latinos, has repeatedly made.

Homan went on, along with the Fox hosts, to allege that asylum seekers in the caravan have been “coached” on what to say. Brian Kilmeade asserted that the claims were simply “made up.”

Fox has spent years demonizing immigrants, and Trump has often echoed their baseless allegations. His major campaign plank — an unnecessary wall on the southern border of the U.S. — reflected the hate and xenophobia promoted by Fox News.

And since he has taken over the presidency, Trump has taken his cues on immigration from Fox. He tweeted repeatedly about the caravan as if it were an invasion force.

In reality, the caravan is made up of human beings on their last legs, looking for a better life.

Among the eight people who are part of the caravan process who have begun the asylum process is Gabriela Hernandez, a pregnant mother of two from Honduras. She has two children, ages 6 and 2, who CNN reports “have battled hunger and exhaustion” in their journey to the border.

The woman left Honduras with her young family because her husband abused her. Then she was threatened by gang members looking for the husband, and they threatened to kill her 6-year-old if she didn’t give up her husband within 12 hours.

She told the network, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I cannot go back to my country.”

These people have been demonized by Fox and the Trump administration, attempting to capitalize among racial fears among conservatives in a cynical ploy for ratings and political support.

Fox attacks the caravan, Trump echoes Fox and regurgitates their hateful propaganda, while innocent families try to escape murder, intimidation, and their legitimate fears.

It is a cycle that the right has cynically and callously embraced.