A June 3rd Associated Press report, “Impact: US-Mexico border isn’t so dangerous,” by Martha Mendoza carries a misleading title and omits key facts about the state of border security. The article claims “government data obtained by The Associated Press show it actually isn’t so dangerous after all.” The article notes that crime rates in four major border cities San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin is down. In addition, it cites an internal Department of Homeland Security report that concludes the levels of violence against US Border Patrol agents is declining as well.

What the report omits, however, is … Continue Reading

A report from Reuters “Calderon urges U.S. to reinstate assault weapons ban,” edited by Cynthia Osterman and posted on May 20 contains both factual errors and careless omissions that misrepresent the challenges of border security and immigration enforcement.

The article quoted Mexican President Felipe Calderon as stating his country had “seized around 75,000 guns and assault weapons in the last three years, Calderon said. He said more than 80 percent of them came from the United States and noted there were more than 7,000 gun shops along the … Continue Reading

Reporting on a new study from Tufts University on the deleterious effects of US farm subsidies on Mexican farming, New York Times reporter Elisabeth Malkin wrote on December 15th:

When American companies cannot compete against imports that they believe are being “dumped” at below-market prices, they are quick to demand remedies from Washington, usually in the form of punitive tariffs. These days, the alleged culprit is often China.

But try looking at things from south of the border and the picture shifts. There, the culprit is just as likely to be the United States, particularly when it comes to agriculture.

While Malkin’s … Continue Reading

In a May 6th LA Times article entitled “Obama budget puts security first at the border”, President Obama perpetuates the myth that the primary source of Mexican gangs’ guns is the United States by saying “This war is being waged with guns purchased not here, but in the United States.” The LA Times themselves fed into the misinformation with their April 18th editorial, “Stemming the flow of guns to Mexico”, in which they repeat the untruth that “about 90% of the…military-style assault weapons captured from (Mexican drug) traffickers” came from the US.

But that 90% number is just … Continue Reading