Editor’s word: The next assortment of immigration reporting assets, story concepts and examples is the fifth in a sequence of tip sheets for brand new and skilled journalists overlaying immigration on the native and neighborhood ranges. This tip sheet sequence is made attainable by means of funding from the Catena Basis. You possibly can learn the entire collection here.
As I watched the latest presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, I used to be not shocked that immigration, Republicans’ go-to marketing campaign bogeyman, got here up again and again as a result of latest polls present the subject is now a prime concern for many People.
Nor was I shocked by Trump’s repeated assertions that violent crime by undocumented immigrants “is thru the roof,” that “hundreds of thousands of criminals, terrorists, widespread road individuals, and drug sellers” are pouring into the U.S., and “they’re ruining our nation.” At one level, the co-moderator interrupted to debunk Trump’s alarming claim that Haitian migrants are consuming individuals’s pets in Springfield, Ohio. The Haitians are within the nation by means of a particular designation referred to as Non permanent Protected Standing or different authorized permission.
After all, anybody can cite particular examples of an undocumented particular person committing rape or homicide, as Fox Information host Sean Hannity did lately as he reported on a Home Judiciary Committee listening to the place members of the family of victims of crimes dedicated by undocumented individuals offered detailed testimony. As he spoke, alarming headlines flashed behind him on the display screen: an 11-year-old woman murdered at residence by an “unlawful alien launched into the nation,” a 12-year-old assaulted and murdered by “two unlawful aliens” from Venezuela, and others.
As horrific as these crimes are — whether or not migrants or nonimmigrants are answerable for them — analysis exhibits that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S.-born People or naturalized foreigners. Outstanding assume tanks and analysis organizations like The Marshall Project, The Brennan Center and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research have produced many credible studies with detailed knowledge debunking the assertion.
The authors of the Brennan Middle report mentioned: “The analysis doesn’t assist the view that immigrants commit crime or are incarcerated at increased charges than native-born People. In actual fact, immigrants might need much less legislation enforcement contact in comparison with nonimmigrants. Specializing in the information is crucial, particularly provided that immigration has turn out to be a top issue for voters forward of the election.”
Story thought: Journalists ought to familiarize themselves with these and different research and point out them when reporting crimes dedicated by undocumented immigrants. This supplies important context to viewers and readers.
Placing apart the next flurry of reports and fact-checking of claims made by each candidates on the debate, different latest developments and authorized challenges to the administration’s immigration insurance policies are value following and reporting.
One such motion is a latest courtroom’s choice to halt a Biden plan, referred to as Preserving Households Collectively, to offer work permits and safety from deportation to sure undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. residents. A number of weeks after the program kicked off, 16 Republican-led states, together with Texas, Florida and Ohio, sued the U.S. Justice Division to cease it. Though immigrant households who qualify can nonetheless apply for this system, the federal government has quickly halted processing purposes.
This system would have supplied a particular immigration standing referred to as parole to greater than 500,000 qualifying immigrant spouses and youngsters.
Attorneys count on the Trump-appointed Texas federal choose listening to the case will lengthen the order when it quickly expires.
Story thought: Interview some mixed-status immigrant households who stuffed out an software for Preserving Households Collectively within the first few weeks and had been authorised for this system. Speak to different people who find themselves eligible however nonetheless have to be authorised. Yow will discover the households by checking with native immigration legal professionals or authorized companies applications in your space.
Latest studies present that 84,271 refugees had been admitted to america between October of final yr and August of this yr. Folks from different nations who arrive underneath “refugee” standing are supplied with work permits, social safety numbers and different federal advantages. Till lately, it took months for refugees to obtain their work paperwork, however the approvals now take simply 30 days quite than months.
The U.S. State Division supplies detailed info on this report about admitted refugees, together with their nation of origin and vacation spot state within the U.S.
This data visualization from the American Council of Immigration is a treasure trove for journalists. It comprises detailed info on refugee arrivals between 2002 and 2018. One interactive is a U.S. map displaying refugees’ nation of origin in 500 U.S. cities.
The interactive map exhibits Antioch, Tennessee, for instance. In 2002, refugees arrived from Sudan, Serbia and Cuba; in 2018, they had been from Congo and Bhutan.
Listed below are some latest tales concerning the altering demographics in traditionally white communities; in some instances, migrants are welcomed, and in others, tensions come up.
“Utah faces a labor shortage as refugee resettlement declines,” KUER 90.1
“Ohio city with migrant influx is thrust into the political spotlight,” PBS Newshour
“The shelter and the storm,” about migrants in Norfolk, Massachusetts; The Washington Submit
Story thought: Discover your metropolis on the information visualization map and interview immigrants by nationality about their adaptation to their local people and state. The place do they work, stay, store and are their youngsters attending college? Are they studying English? The place do they go for healthcare? What do they discover most complicated about U.S. cultural norms, practices and processes? Attempt to discover out why they settled the place they did. Did they’ve a selection of vacation spot?
A brand new comprehensive report by the League of United Latin American Residents, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights group, supplies an in depth overview of restrictive legislative measures taken by states since 2020, with 223 proposed this yr to handle immigration and over 500 the final 4 years.
The measures embrace criminalizing unauthorized entry into the U.S. on the state degree and permitting native legislation enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities in implementing immigration legal guidelines. Different measures would tackle non-citizen voting makes an attempt and the hiring of undocumented staff.
Texas was the primary state to signal into legislation SB4 in 2023 to deport undocumented immigrants who cross into their state. The federal authorities has challenged the legislation in federal courtroom, and its implementation is quickly suspended.
A number of different states — Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas and Oklahoma — have enacted similar laws, and Arizona voters will vote on Proposition 314, that state’s model of the Texas legislation, in November. It’s value noting that Catholic bishops in Arizona lately issued a statement opposing the legislation, saying it’s going to result in “worry” and “dangerous penalties.”
Story thought: Test to see what immigration proposals may be pending in your state and interview non secular, civil rights and immigrant advocacy teams about them. Are they getting ready to problem any of the measures that cross?
Check out the next tales:
“After 26 years, a Border Patrol agent has a new role: helping migrants,” USA Immediately
“Feds deploy surveillance blimp over busy smuggling corridors,” Border Report.
“What We Learned When We Met With Our Latino Immigrant Readers In Person,” Documented.
Story thought: How are you going to localize the primary two tales to your readers and viewers? Is there somebody in your neighborhood who as soon as labored in immigration enforcement however is now volunteering to assist migrant arrivals? Can your publication host a city corridor just like the one in New York, the place immigrants focus on their challenges?
