Around the breakfast table in our hotel in Salina Kansas, we watched the ubiquitous Fox News channel since it seemed to be permanently selected at every hotel in the American Midwest. We have found from our friends that winter in Arizona, this is the land of Trump. Trump believers are everywhere. As a result, we learned that there was massive illegal migration at the border. 300,000 people from around the world were trying to get into the US across the Mexican border. By no means were these only Mexicans. Particularly at the Rio Grande, where the US was unable to build a wall,” hordes of people,” according to Fox were trying to cross illegally. Fox does not acknowledge that some of these people have the legitimate right to make asylum claims.

We also learned from Fox that many of the illegals were using false ID papers to pose as minors so they could stay with their families. Fox always emphasizes that the “Illegal immigrants,” as they call them all, cannot be trusted and should be feared. Every time I watch Fox, they are filling Americans with fear about the “hordes” at the border. This is very effective at stoking the fears of Americas. In fact, every side in the immigration disputes arouses fear about the others. Every side in the debate—and there are many—pitches an implicit ideology. For example, that migrants are scary or that people who think borders should be controlled are racist bigots. Life is more complicated than that.

Fox also claimed that 700,000 illegal immigrants get full medical benefits to which ordinary American working people are not entitled. I have heard versions of this story many times.  Immigrants, illegal or not, immediately get more rights than Americans. I have also heard on CNN that this is not true. Where is the truth? Sometimes truth seems very illusive, particularly in heated debates. What is not in doubt however, is that such news fuels hate against immigrants.

This does not mean that we should reject all media. We need good journalism and there is lots of it out there, though, of course, there is also much fake news. That does not make everything fake news as Trump and his Trumpsters often suggest. It does mean that each of us must use our skills of critical thinking and judgment to weigh the evidence in favor of or opposed to these narratives. Fox also claimed that in many states immigrants, even illegal immigrants, get ‘instate tuition’ rates unlike most non-residents? Is that true? I don’t know.

Both Republican and Democrat administrations are to blame for the problems on the border, though, of course, each side blames the other. The Republicans have not wanted to spend any money to solve the problem. They don’t want to “waste” money on paying to adjudicate asylum claims at the border so they drag on interminably. The result is that asylum seekers often wait a decade to have their cases heard while they live in the US as undocumented visitors. During this time, they often create families, making immigration issues even more complicated.  At times, the Democrats would not pay any serious heed to controlling the border. Sometimes it seems ike they even welcome the true illegal immigrants at the border. Though Barack Obama, of all people, was known as the “Deporter-in-Chief, the position Trump longed for. Underfunding of border facilities has made it impossible to deal with the large numbers that have been appearing and help to present images that scare people in America.

Just like we must look critically at the miracle cures for a legion of ailments that are offered by Fox advertisers, we must look critically at claims they make about immigration, one of their favourite issues. Are there really that many miracle cures out there? Is it true that everyone who appears at the border is untrustworthy? All sides in important public issues such as immigration, must use critical thinking to weigh the evidence and arguments. As well we must not do what Trump says he does—i.e. trust his gut. The gut really doesn’t do much effective thinking. Neither do hunches, feelings, or guesses.

Better thinking is what we need to tackle all important social issues, and too often, that seems in very short supply.