June 13, 2004

"When the feds come knocking"

From the Times, er, the Trenton Times:

His name is Ruben. The 32-year-old father of four grew up in Guatemala but lives in Trenton now. His hope is to someday live the American dream...

[100 more lines of sub-Sally Struthers advocacy for illegal aliens deleted]

Rather than bog you down with the rest of this "news report," here's the letter I sent to Brian S. Malone, the editor of the Trenton Times:

I have a few questions on "When the feds come knocking" by Eva Loayza.
There are several "yes, but" spots in this story. For instance, why doesn't Ruben stay in Guatamala and try to improve that country? If hundreds of thousands of Guatamalans stayed home, wouldn't that put pressure on the government to do something other than draining their country of their most energetic citizens?

Why didn't your reporter raise any of those "yes, but" points?

Why is this story written more like a weepy advocacy piece than a real news report?

When was the last time the Trenton Times covered immigration matters from the perspective of those who are negatively impacted by massive illegal immigration? Certainly it shouldn't be that difficult for a resourceful reporter to find such people.

If you would like to send your own polite email, here's his address: bmalone@njtimes.com

Posted to Immigration2003 at June 13, 2004 09:28 PM

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