Afar

I'm of the opinion that "media bias" (which is really just media outlets seeking to give their audiences what they want) exists more in the realm of story selection and framing than in outright manipulation of facts or making things up. Sure, an outlet might be more or less likely to treat something as credible, based on its political leanings, but this is still, as far as I'm concerned, a function of the audience's desires.

In any event, NPR (which tends to be my poster child for this thesis) recently ran an article on a Wisconsin pastor who was barred from re-entering the United States after having gone to Guatemala to visit his mother, who was ill. In fairness to NPR, this story comes from an outfit called "Religion News Service," so it's likely that it was reported in other outlets as well.

It's another example of the understanding that outcomes should be driven by whether or not the subject is a good or bad person, rather than whether or not the rules point to that outcome. While Reverend Paredes and his family are portrayed quite sympathetically, the article itself notes: "Soon after, he was notified by the U.S. government he was ineligible to apply to return to the U.S. until 2035 because of a 1991 deportation order."

And while the pastor claims that he was unaware of any such order, there's nothing in the piece that notes that no such order actually exists.

This is the sort of advocacy piece that might better serve its intended audience if it focused more on changing the immigration system, so that the rules were clearer and more accessible. And perhaps more broadly publicized. Reverend Paredes seemed to be under the impression that since immigration officials weren't chasing him around, that he had been cleared to stay in the United States; when that wasn't actually the case. He may have received bad legal advice when he consulted with a lawyer before returning to Guatemala, but had he himself been better versed on the rules, he may have understood that something didn't add up properly. Yet this story is more about the outcome, than the process. And I think that this contributes to the idea that the American Left is in favor of open borders.

There are stories to be told about the way that the American immigration system works. More of a focus on making that system better may be of more help then the human-interest stories the seem to dominate the coverage.