Morgan Weiland of Media Matters leaps to defense of illegal aliens, ACORN

Morgan Weiland of Media Matters for America offers "Conservative media consistently scapegoat undocumented immigrants, ACORN" (mediamatters.org/items/200904070005). That former United Nations intern is here to defend both, even if she doesn't do it so well. There are several parts and discussing what's wrong with those is left as an exercise. However, here are two:

Additionally, conservative media figures advanced the myth that undocumented immigrants are attempting or are likely to attempt, en masse, to vote illegally... This myth gained traction in reports about former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's (D) plan to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver's license, which many in the media claimed would open the door to voter fraud by, they claimed, helping enable immigrants who are not here legally to register to vote.

The fact that Spitzer changed the motor voter rules in a way that would have made it easier for illegal aliens to register to vote might be just a bit of a clue that such claims were on target.

In reporting on or discussing the 2009 expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), many in the media falsely asserted or uncritically repeated the misleading claim that the bill makes it easier for undocumented immigrants to access health benefits through the program, often by ignoring or misrepresenting the bill's citizenship verification requirements.

Read about those requirements here; no posturing language claiming that the bill doesn't provide benefits for illegal aliens will prevent illegal aliens from abusing the program through simple means. And, a state could simply look the other way and allow illegal aliens to get benefits under the bill; their only penalty would, as far as I know, simply be that they'd have to pick up the bill for that. Considering that many California state legislators frequently act more like they work for the Mexican government, that isn't something that can be ruled out.

Discussing the rest of it is left as an exercise.

Tue, 04/07/2009 - 13:56 · · Importance: 4