STUDY: CNN, MSNBC Refer to El Salvadoran Illegal Alien as ‘Maryland Man’ 120 Times
7th April 2025
If you got all of your news from CNN and MSNBC, you’d have a higher than 50/50 chance of believing the Trump administration had accidentally arrested and deported a naturalized American citizen living in Maryland, and for no particular reason.
Cable networks CNN and MSNBC have hopelessly twisted the story of an El Salvadoran illegal alien who recently was deported by the Trump administration. Over the past week, these two networks have referred to Kilmar Abrego-Garcia as a “Maryland man” or “Maryland father” a whopping 120 times, while identifying him as an illegal alien only seven times. Meanwhile, MSNBC alone aired thirteen objectively false assertions that Garcia was actually a legal resident.
MRC analysts looked at all coverage of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador on CNN and MSNBC, from April 1 through April 6. In that time, the networks aired a combined 72 stories about Garcia (40 on MSNBC, 32 on CNN).
CNN referred to Garcia using terms such as “Maryland man” and “Maryland father” 51 times. Across the 32 news stories about him last week, only a single segment (3%) contained any mention he was in the country illegally, and just thirteen (41%) even bothered to mention he was from El Salvador, not America.
On MSNBC, Garcia was referred to by terms like “Maryland father” an absurd 69 times. Throughout the 40 segments discussing his deportation, his illegal status was mentioned in just six (15%), and only twelve segments (30%) pointed out that he was from El Salvador.