“I think once the president has an opportunity to explain it, those numbers are going to go up,” U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Wednesday on MSNBC.
The address was not broadcast on the network television channels of ABC, CBS, and NBC. The White House did not send a formal request because the networks said they weren’t interested in interrupting prime-time coverage for what they perceived to be a heavily political message, according to Politico.
However, the address was broadcast on the Spanish-language channels Univision and Telemundo. On Univision, the 15-minute address was sandwiched before the second hour of the Latin Grammys, one of Univision’s highest rated programs that drew 9.8 million viewers last year.
“As part of its ongoing commitment to inform and empower the U.S. Hispanic community, Univision News will bring its audiences every detail surrounding President Barack Obama’s plans for issuing executive orders on immigration,” Univision said in a statement.
The Politics of Immigration Reform
Forty-three percent of Latino Americans support execution action on immigration, and 37 percent are opposed, according to the WSJ/NBC poll. Some pro-immigration groups greeted the news with mixed feelings, arguing that the scope of the current plan is not enough, as it only shields 5 million of the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants from deportation.
“We celebrate our victory and those whose lives will be changed,” said Cristina Jimenez of United We Dream, which has organized many protests urging immigration reform. “The news that parents of Dreamers ... are not included in this upcoming relief program is disturbing.”
