Since only one photojournalist, Verónica Cárdenas of Reuters, was given access to photograph the tour, it is also important to question whose lens we are seeing the narrative through. Visuals from the next stop on the Vice-President’s trip, however, give pause.ġ0 Jumping ahead for a moment, they may have toothpaste in boxes at Donna family/child holding center but, in video from #McAllen, the men in cages, detainees gesture to reporters they haven’t been able to brush their teeth. Box counters allegations that refugee detainees don’t have toothbrushes or toothpaste. The following tweet shows how Pence also used the visit to counter documentation by the government’s own Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, as well migrants’ claims about inhumane conditions at the center.ĩ Perhaps the most heavy-handed photo from #Pence Twitter, #Donna detention center. Like props (could have met w families) most shots show entourage approaching unwitting children from behind. (Strictly on visual level, another form of family separation). Reinforcing the obvious power dynamics that exist, many photos show Pence hovering or standing over migrant children as they look up at him.Ħ Re pix at recently expanded #Donna holding center, Pence photos largely show children alone. What was revealing about the images at the Donna facility was how the visiting officials carried themselves and interacted with migrants. No mention of FB scandal, even/especially in 30 min round table with BP at McAllen. He was quoted by Vox saying, “It’s my honor to be with you all and to have the opportunity to see firsthand the extraordinary and compassionate professionalism of Customs and Border Protection.”ĥ Despite concerning #BorderPatrol abuses, Administration PR, social media bends over backwards to fete agents/enforcement. Did address this in context of border visit day before in San Diego in response to q’s. 72UdsvTAwSĪlthough it never came up all day, even (or especially) during a roundtable Pence held with agents in McAllen, part of the trip had to do with lessening the impact of the Facebook scandal.ģ One of goals of trip was to insulate/defend #BorderPatrol from reports about its almost 10k member private racially/sexually toxic FB group. Paradoxically, aim is to show previous scenes inaccurate, yet still “tough stuff” (& blame Dems). cities on Sunday.Ģ Let’s be mindful of goal: to counteract shocking pix from last 2 urgent (random) inspection visual reports, the pix from Clint, & #BorderPatrol FB scandal. And the wave continued days after Pence’s visit, as ICE raids began in several U.S. The tour came after what seems like a continuous wave of bad news and damaging imagery surrounding the migrant crisis: the drowning of father and daughter Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and Valeria in the Rio Grande two damning reports by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General about squalid conditions at detention centers the further exposure of those conditions after a visit by members of the Hispanic Caucus and the discovery of secret Border Patrol Facebook groups where racist and sexist posts flourished. The entourage facing US handiwork without game faces. A thread about photo access and visual framing in an age of hate and hysteria. Through our analysis, which was broken down in a series of tweets, we invite you to take a closer look at Pence’s detention center photo-op, and consider the factors that shape those images.ġ A photographic look at Pence visit to 2 TX detention centers w 7 #GOP senators. Our interpretations of body language and visual language in the photos revealed more details from Pence’s tour and its political agenda. We looked at the photos and screenshots of videos that came out of the visit. Also, a press video was made on the second and most controversial stop. Despite the limited time that the press was given to document the tour, they produced imagery that was telling of the migrant crisis and the government’s actions (or inaction). Vice President Mike Pence visited two detention centers in Texas last Friday. Photography is a powerful tool in politics, and never more so than now, in the midst of this immigration battle and culture war.
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