The Los Angeles Times belatedly weighed in on Sunday with a story regarding the differential impact of the wildfires on immigrants, legal and otherwise. Unfortunately, not only was the story late it included the by now discredited account of immigrants stealing from the stadium. Furthermore, the article states:
“In response to recent rumors, U.S. authorities deny that they have been rounding up illegal immigrants at evacuation centers, and Mexican Consulate officials in San Diego who visited numerous sites have found no evidence to support the rumors. ‘We are not arresting fire evacuees. It’s absolutely ludicrous to suggest otherwise,’ said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
Except that the New York Times has been reporting and not just suggesting otherwise:
“Some of the illegal workers who sought help from the authorities were arrested and deported. Opponents of illegal immigration, including civilian border watch groups, seized on news that immigrants had been detained at the Qualcomm Stadium evacuation center as evidence of trouble that illegal immigrants cause.
“The Border Patrol also arrested scores of illegal immigrants made visible by the fires. Agent Fisher of the Border Patrol said 100 had been arrested since the fires started Sunday.
“He said that the agency never abandoned enforcing the border and that agents helped with removals and rescues. Fire blocked some access points to border areas, but Agent Fisher said, ‘We were very conscious in making sure our border security mission was met.’”
Either way, both the LAT and the NYT were late to the story compared to La Opinión.
Tags: California Fires, Immigrants
