Tag: immigration

FOIA powered immigration story

FOIA stands for the Freedom of Information Act (1997), and this act gives the public the right to disclose public information controlled by the U.S. government. FOIA helps the public such as journalists to request public information from the government that could support their stories and inform the reader.

Looking through different public stories that are FOIA powered stories, and these public stories were disclosed by the U.S. government. The story I chose to discuss is titled As Central American Gangs Increasingly Target Children More Minors are Fleeing the U.S.

This story is talking about student gang members in central El Salvador. A gang has sexually assaulted a 12 year old girl and killed her cousin. The article goes to talk about how the girl’s Parents had to migrate to the U.S. and wanted to have their kids join them mainly for safety reasons. However, the family didn’t end up having the kids come to the U.S. because at the time the U.S. government paid 130 million dollars to increase security on the U.S. Mexican borders.

As an American, I want to have protected borders; however, read migrants’ stories and the reason behind their immigration makes me have mixed feelings especially if that could help a child’s life.

FOIA

 

This American Life’s investigation into the supposed immigration crisis

NPR has a unique quality compared to other news organizations. It is publicly funded which allows it far more room to do interesting stories that might not be competitive in the news market, but provides important information that may not get reported.

This American Life has been a radio show since 1995, but is highly prevalent among the most popular podcasts today. It is a personal favorite of mine.

Recently TAL did a story called “Our Town” about immigration, taking a deep dive into a small town that has been heavily affected by the “immigration crisis.” The story takes place in two parts, and analyzes all perspectives of those affected from illegal immigrants to politicians and everyone in between.

The story took eight months to collect and write and is accompanied by a data analysis of the affected area.

With so much talk about illegal immigration by politicians nowadays, hearing what the truth of the situation is, by those who are actually affected, provides an interesting perspective.