N.Y. Daily News, Albor Ruiz: Lying, Misleading, Joking, or Telling the Truth?

Welcome to the premier edition of "Lying, Misleading, Joking, or Telling the Truth", or LMJOTTT as it shall henceforth be known. In this series we'll examine editorials and news reports, and try to decide which of those the author is doing.

For this edition, we'll look at "Immigrants get new hope for fairness" from Albor Ruiz in the New York Daily News:

The new bi-partisan immigration reform bill introduced this week in Congress brings some hope for moving the immigration question away from prejudice, partisan grandstanding and merciless repression.

I think I'll put this part in the "he must be joking with his hyperbole scare talk" and part in the "he's misleading verging on outright lying". Is it really "prejudice" or "merciless repression" to enforce our immigration laws? So, is he joking, or just outright lying?

...current anti-immigrant climate...

I think he's referring to the fact that 75% or more of the American public is opposed to illegal immigration, and they seem to actually be demanding that their representatives share their concerns. Is that "anti-immigrant"? No, it isn't. Misleading.

It is too soon to give a verdict on the merits of the proposed reform law, but something is certain: It puts back some needed common sense in the immigration debate.

I get the impression that Albor didn't have the time to go to Kennedy's site and read up on the details. He lays it all out. Perhaps he's waiting for talking points or something.

Then, Ruiz includes a quote from the New York Immigration Coalition. This was the same group discussed in the earlier entry "Hats off to the New York Immigration Coalition", which - surprise! - featured Ruiz discussing a misleading poll that, unfortunately, was performed by an academic rather than a regular-grade hack.

We'll end with this highly misleading statement:

Immigrants are our neighbors, the parents of school children like our own, they are hardworking people who pay taxes, fight wars and hold the most difficult jobs out there.

That's good to know. However, isn't Ruiz mainly discussing illegal immigrants in this piece? Why doesn't he identify them as such? Why does the NYIC suffer from that same problem? Are they... trying to mislead their readers?

Note: just a couple weeks ago, a N.Y. Daily News "news" report was discussed in the post "Get out your hankies, here comes a PIIPP", which also contains the email I sent the NYDN.

Contact editor *at* nydailynews.com with your thoughts.

Comments

Landlords who have been struggling with overcrowding by illegal immigrants have also been subject to Ruiz' lies, half truths and innuendos. Rather than exhibit some journalistic integrity, he makes up his stories to further his own agenda.

eh writes: "Did I get something wrong?"

Yes, you certainly did.

"the immigration problem"

What "problem" would that be, then? The "problem" that millions of foreigners think they ought to be able to decide for themselves if they want to live in the US or not? Without really any input from Americans? Or enforcement of existing immigration law? Or thoughtful, beforehand consideration of the impact of their arrival on America and Americans? And you want to fix that how? By some kind of "immigration reform", that basically says 'OK, you can stay' to all those here, and 'Hey, come on over' to anyone and everyone thinking of joining them? Not to mention the 'willing worker, willing employer' stuff. Did I get something wrong? Is that your 'solution'?

"hard line"

Which would be what? Simple enforcement of existing law? Why is that "hard line"? Or are you referring to something else?

"radical anti-immigration movement"

Does that make you part of the 'radical pro-immigration movement'?

Albor Ruiz, columnists for The New York Daily News has now joined the Bush administration, more than a few Congressmen and Senators, the Catholic Bishops, several conservative columnists, Christian churches and organization, newspapers and periodicals and millions of Americans in supporting rational immigration reform.

As the issue of immigration reform is discussed more and more in the media and around dinner tables in homes, intelligent people will begin to realize that the hard line, law and order, "deport them all" rhetoric of the radical anti-immigration movement is neither practical nor a good way to deal with the immigration problem in the US.