Both Time and Newsweek devote covers this week to the immigration debate. Both covers take sides. Unsurprisingly, the dead-tree rivals take the same side--the side of law breaking. Newsweek's headline screams, "Illegals Under Fire." In case it's not loud enough, the weekly put "under fire" in red. Time's cover story goes "Inside America's Secret Workforce." Its cover shows an illegal immigrant "who came to America and found success" and promises to introduce readers to "the real people behind the debate." The "real people" we meet in the accompanying article are named Julio, Mario, Pancho, and Carlos. Whatever qualifies for "real people" status in Time's eyes, native-born Americans curiously don't possess it.

Like the Time article, Newsweek's cover-story is a human-interest story uninterested in all varieties of humans save one: the illegal immigrant.

Of course, the magazines rarely use such clear terms. Newsweek, like most other news outlets, prefers the more cumbersome, Orwellian "undocumented worker" to "illegal immigrant." Illegal immigrant conveys the idea that the immigrant has done something wrong in transgressing our laws. Undocumented worker suggests that our laws have done something wrong in not providing documents to the immigrant workers. In other words, "undocumented" is a politically-loaded word the alerts the audience to the journalist's bias on the illegal immigration issue.

The cover, the article--even Newsweek's selection of photographs and captions are slanted. One picture shows a line of Mexican prostitutes in Tijauna. The caption reads: "Against the wall: Young women wait in Tijuana's red-light district, close to the border. Some who fail to make the crossing to the United States wind up working here." The message? America condemns Mexican women to lives of prostitution by enforcing immigration laws. Another, bleak picture shows Americans painlessly entering Mexico while Mexicans painfully get deported. The caption reads: "Shut out: Young Mexican men arrested by the border patrol wait to be deported. To the left, the gate through which U.S. citizens can enter Mexico without identification."

To Newsweek, the national mood isn't against law-breaking--illegal immigration--but against all immigrants. The piece points to a "seemingly rising anti-immigrant sentiment," "excessive—and possibly racist—immigrant-bashing," "immigration raids," and this not being "the first time in American history that nativist sentiment prevailed." But where are there raids against legal immigrants? When did the wave of "immigrant bashing" occur? How is a desire amongst citizens to enforce the laws they support an example of "nativist sentiment"?

In a sidebar to its main piece, Newsweek posts an interview with CNN host Lou Dobbs, a dogged critic of illegal immigration. The magazine badgers him with questions not so much on illegal immigration as on his bias on the issue: "Is it appropriate for CNN to give you a platform every night?" "[I]s it appropriate for a host to take position on any kind of issue?" "[S]hould all journalists give up the pretense of objectivity?"

Instead of a cable television personality, might these questions be a better fit for the editors of America's leading "news" magazines, Newsweek and Time?

I don't think that this situation will end cleanly or soon. There are a lot of pizzed off citizens who have had it with these unwelcomed scofflaws and I can see the rhetoric and the activity with regard to pushing all illegals out and keeping them out only continue to escalate.

Anyone catch this story on CNN.com?

I'm not saying they are illegal or anything, but damn!

How did we ever end up with such stupid and seemingly unconcerned people running this country?

Does rule of law or the protection of our sovereignty mean anything anymore?

No wonder the world mocks and laughs at us. We talk strength but show weakness.

Asdf,

I am a tad concerned that this will indeed "end" soon, if any sort of legislation is passed in the current climate. I think a massive failure on this issue will be the result from the Senate and the President. Instead of responding to the polls that show a huge majority for kicking out illegals they will cave to pressure from the media's biased reporting, the Mexican flag waving marchers, the likes of George Will buying into the stupid Rove claim that the GOP can compete for Hispanic votes and will be punished by those voters if they restrict immigration and kick illegals out, big business, and Democratic Balkan politics.

It would be better (as I have seen suggested elsewhere) if nothing is passed now and the mid-term elections had this as the major issue for candidates all over the country to run on. In fact, if that were the case and the GOP wasn't as stupid as it is, or as in bed to the cheap labor lobby as they are, then that would be the strategy for maintaining congressional control for the party. It would be the issue like homosexual marriage was in '04, the issue unifying the base.

Brian,

The President and the Senate may think that by making a weak decision to come up with a new law to skirt this very volatile issue rather than enforcing the current laws, that this will go away. But, there is a very active and ever more vocal majority who will not accept this.

Americans are tired of watching their freedoms evaporate while the costs of those fleeting freedoms keep going up. And they’re tired of watching entrenched government officials getting away with selling our country to the highest bidder.

If our government wants to keep promoting chaos and anarchy by disrespecting our rule of law by changing those laws to suit themselves and by disregarding the will of the people, then chaos and anarchy is what they’ll get.

It really gets me that the ones who pay and play by the rules (AND BELONG HERE!!!) are less important than a criminal class.

Even if these traitors pass what essentially amounts to an amnesty bill, I don't see this being over by a long shot.

ASDF,
You state: "Americans are tired of watching their freedoms evaporate while the costs of those fleeting freedoms keep going up."

I'm a little unclear as to what you're saying. Can you elaborate?

Good post!

The problem asdf is whether the majority that supports controlling immigration in polls will a) have any options to vote for or b) will have any means of making this an issue once some compromise bill is passed and the media hails it as a great success and lies about its nature. Our rulers have had no problem (think of Bush here for one) calling Americans racist nativists on this issue, and the media and universities certainly push that comforting calumny about the "American people."

I can see this easily dissapearing as an issue again. It was huge in 1986 and the same thing happened then. The fight came up again in the mid-90's b/c of Cali's push for Prop 187 and that ended up a disastrous defeat b/c the GOP hasn't since stopped lying about it as the reason Pete Wilson lost and the basis for their "outreach" (pandering) to the Hispanic vote. The same is happening as we speak w/ this Senate bill.

I am more pessimistic than you. The "majority" doesn't rule in our political system. Your populism is commendable but unrealistic in my view.

AM, As I hail from the Socialist Republic of Massachusetts, my point of reference may be skewed as our state government has done a good job of chipping away at many of our personal freedoms. For this reason, I may have used a poor choice of words. But, I think this issue highlights most people's beliefs that we have lost the freedom to have any say in what our government does right down to the power of choosing representatives who are responsible for doing the business of the people who put them in power in the first place.

Brian, You bring up a good point that the amnesty plan initiated in 1986 has been mostly forgotten. To to be honest, I had almost forgotten about it myself. But, I think that a lot has changed in 20 years and the social and economic climate is dramicatically different now than what it was back then. For the naturalized working taxpaying masses (blue and white collar), there seems to be the belief that things aren't getting any better and that all is being lost as our government acts autonomously to sell our country out from under us. There is a level of extreme frustration with how business and government have abandoned the same people who have helped to strengthen and enable them. Jobs are being outsourced and lost as businesses move to greener pastures and hire cheaper labor, costs keep going up but salaries and wages don't keep pace and I think most people than ever are getting sick and tired of seeing the welfare roles explode while our government tells us that we need to naturalize alien criminals so that the jobs that might be done by those on the dole will be covered. Not to mention the alien criminals who 'pass go' and get on the dole directly.

Add to this the blatant disregard for our security and sovereignty and the apparent acceptance by our government that they are willing to give up a fifth of our country to an aggressive, uneducated underclass of foreigners and I think that this has people are starting to pay more attention.

There is a groundswell of anger and concern out there that transcends class or race and when real Americans are required to choose what language they transact their banking in and start to feel like minorities in their country of birth while seeing the American flagged rubbed in the dirt by criminals who shoudn't be here in the first place, I believe that there will be some repercussions and this illegal abomination will not stand this time around.

ASDF,
Well said. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

AM