Exploring the lives of the undocumented immigrant
Some people -- although fewer than I anticipated -- didn't like Jason Hardin's story Sunday about undocumented immigrants in the area. Jason said he got about a dozen complaints about the story. Here's what Jason told me: Many say they don't like reading "sob stories" about immigrants who chose to come here. Some asked why are we writing about this instead of citizens who are having hard times with the economy, or why we don't ever write about immigrants who come here and do bad things (I replied that we have done, and will do, plenty of stories on both). Several, including those from the previous categories, said they disliked the term "undocumented immigrants" as opposed to "illegal immigrants" or "illegal aliens."
The anger that people hold is almost palpable. One reader wrote me: For a Sunday December 7 edition you should have published a story with a line more like: "Imagine what it would be like to bang the iron hull on the inside of a cruiser at the bottom of Pearl Harbor while one consumed the last bit of oxygen from a three cubic yard air pocket." But instead you found the loss of a car stereo installation business belonging to an illegal alien a more dignified and horrifying proposition.
Another wrote: John, I actually appreciate "reporters" like yourself, because now I feeeeel better. With your help, hopefully more illegal aliens will subvert American sovereignty, steal our lavish welfare benefits, have numerous anchor babies (At tax payer expense), free schooling, free medical care, steal our jobs, speak a foreign language, wave their national flag, and most importantly, with the help of the ethnic pressure groups like Maldef, "The Race" (La Raza) and courageous propagandists, call us xenophobes "racist" and "hatemonger".
Our story wasn't an attempt to glorify or excuse the lives of the undocumented in the Triad. Rather, it was an exploration of a side of the community that few people see, but which causes problems for both the immigrants, law enforcement and social service agencies.
Comments (1)
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I still like the word ILLEGAL. Of course your story was to show how bad we treat ILLEGALS.
maybe if your reporters,( tongue in cheek) would get off their butts, and show how many of these AH, were involved in car wrecks, with no car insurance, that cause pain and suffering for the folks they crash into. I tried to prod Mark Binker into doing this. I remember one drug bust with the ILLEGALS, that your paper never mention they were ILLEGALS, it was released by a country jock.I also remember your paper was all for instate tuition for these ILLEGALS. So answer me this, if I live in Virginia, I been in the military, and worked and paid taxes, if my children want to go to UNC, they pay full rate, if Jose, jumped the boarder last night, he gets instate tuition. Is that fair?
Posted on December 9, 2008 4:56 PM