Fox News captions illegal border crossings with 'The Hispanic Vote'

A Fox News segment on Thursday that stereotyped immigrants crossing the border as "The Hispanic Vote" will probable not do much to help reverse the trend that allowed President Barack Obama to win re-election with large percentages of minority voters.

During a discussion about what Republicans could do to be more inclusive, Fox News host Jenna Lee noted that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had recently blamed his loss on "gifts" that Obama gave to Hispanic, African-American and young voters.

"In each case, they were very generous in what they gave to those groups," Romney explained on a Wednesday conference call with donors. "Likewise with Hispanic voters, free health care was a big plus. But in addition with regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for children of illegals, the so-called Dream Act kids, was a huge plus for that voting group."

"I don't know if it's stereotype, if it's true, if it's a myth that immigration is the only thing Hispanic voters care about," Lee noted in the Fox News segment on Thursday.

"Well, no, Latinos clearly said the economy was a very important issue," President George W. Bush's former Spanish media spokesperson Mercedes Schlapp replied. "But immigration plays such a critical role. First of all because Latinos are coming from these countries, looking to come to America to the land of opportunity so they can provide for their families."

At that point, the Fox News control room switched the video feed to B-roll footage of what appeared to be immigrants illegally crossing the border while "The Hispanic Vote" caption remained on the screen. Some video shots filmed through barbed-wire fencing showed immigrants carrying bags and bottles of water in the dessert. In other B-roll video, immigrants fled behind brush to keep from being filmed.

"I gotta tell you, I cringed in some of these presidential primaries, looking at the debates and seeing what certain candidates had to say on immigration," Schlapp recalled. "Immigrants bring economic growth to America. It's what makes America great and that's the message Republicans need to embrace."

Watch this video from Fox News' Happening Now via Think Progress, broadcast Nov. 15, 2012.