Dear Immigrant Rights Advocates,

Last night (Monday, February 5), Fox 9 News ran two stories about
immigration, 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=2285...

The stories were filled with derogatory comments made by the reporter such
as "illegals blend unnoticed" and "illegals trying to cross."  Overall, the
stories are making the case that Mexico and Mexican immigration to Minnesota
is tied to crime and drug dealing, exemplified by unproven and
sensationalistic statements such as "in the secret underworld of Twin Cities
drug trafficking, most roads lead south to Mexico" and "a hole in a
chainlink fence is one of several ways for illegal immigrants to get
themselves or drugs across the border."  The story also lacked balance as
all of the people interviewed represented the voice of the authorities.

It is stories like this one, which make over-generalizations, make broad
statements without citing credible sources, and whimsically tie crime to
immigrant communities that create more problems in our society by fueling
xenophobia and negative stereotypes of our communities.  If the story
contained any real information for folks to be more informed about, it was
unfortunately overshadowed by the combat-style images, the negative
stereotyping of immigrants as tied to crime and the lack of a balanced
representation of the subject.  Indeed, the very "subject" of this report is
still unclear to us as many complex themes were whimsically tied together in
a journalistically unresponsible manner.

Please write to:

Jeff Baillon, lead Investigative/Consumer reporter for KMSP Fox 9, at
jeff.bail...@foxtv.com

and

Kim Kruger, Executive Producer for KMSP's Investigative Unit, at
kim.kru...@foxtv.com

Let them know why you felt their story lacked to inform viewers and ways
they could have improved their coverage.  Feel free to use any of our
comments above to craft your email or letter.  Please send a copy of your
letter to freedomnetw...@gmail.com, so we can keep track of how many
comments they received.

We are interested in organizing a meeting to talk more with members of Fox 9
about this issue, if you would like to participate in this meeting, please
email us.

La lucha sigue,
Alondra
MIFN Communications
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 Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network
2500 University Avenue, Suite C8
St. Paul, MN 55114

Tel. 651.287.0660
Email. freedomnetw...@gmail.com

See our history and visit our website at:
www.mnfr.org

See our video footage at:
www.youtube.com/user/ImmigrantRightsNow

See our photography documentation at:
www.flickr.com/photos/mnimmigrantfreedom/