If child migrants and Central Americans have been coming to the United States for decades – why was this particular wave deemed a crisis? We look at why this story took the nation’s media by storm and how politicians manipulated the media to put the spotlight on themselves. Aviva Chomsky, professor of history at Salem State University in Massachusetts, guides us through what happened in her state and how partisan politics played up certain aspects of the story that may have taken away from the actual crisis at hand.

Point of Clarification: Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts proposed housing the children in U.S. Health and Human Service run shelters at two specific sites in Massachusetts while they are being processed.