A message from the Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network

Dear Immigrant Rights Advocates,

Last night (Monday, February 5), Fox 9 News ran two stories aboutimmigration, the Minnesota National Guard members patrolling the border,drugs and crime. To see the stories, please visit:http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=2285806&version=5&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

The stories were filled with derogatory comments made by the reporter suchas "illegals blend unnoticed" and "illegals trying to cross." Overall, thestories are making the case that Mexico and Mexican immigration to Minnesotais tied to crime and drug dealing, exemplified by unproven andsensationalistic statements such as "in the secret underworld of Twin Citiesdrug trafficking, most roads lead south to Mexico" and "a hole in achainlink fence is one of several ways for illegal immigrants to getthemselves or drugs across the border." The story also lacked balance asall of the people interviewed represented the voice of the authorities.It is stories like this one, which make over-generalizations, make broadstatements without citing credible sources, and whimsically tie crime toimmigrant communities that create more problems in our society by fuelingxenophobia and negative stereotypes of our communities. If the storycontained any real information for folks to be more informed about, it wasunfortunately overshadowed by the combat-style images, the negativestereotyping of immigrants as tied to crime and the lack of a balancedrepresentation of the subject. Indeed, the very "subject" of this report isstill unclear to us as many complex themes were whimsically tied together ina journalistically unresponsible manner.

Please write to:Jeff Baillon, lead Investigative/Consumer reporter for KMSP Fox 9, atjeff.baillon@foxtv.comandKim Kruger, Executive Producer for KMSP's Investigative Unit, atkim.kruger@foxtv.comLet them know why you felt their story lacked to inform viewers and waysthey could have improved their coverage. Feel free to use any of ourcomments above to craft your email or letter. Please send a copy of yourletter to freedomnetwork@gmail.com, so we can keep track of how manycomments they received.