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It’s All in the Spin

Thanks to Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico provides illegal immigrants an opportunity to get a driver’s license. So, the Karina Acosta situation in Roswell is kind of ridiculous:

The school-based police officer, Charlie Corn, stopped Roswell High School senior Karina Acosta at the school for a parking violation in late November and then learned she was not carrying a driver’s license, Balderston said. Corn could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Acosta told the officer she could produce the driver’s license and he allowed her several days to do so, Balderston said. Balderston said Corn felt he was being lenient.

When Acosta did not produce a driver’s license, the officer had Acosta pulled from class.

In the course of trying to confirm Acosta’s identity, the officer learned the student was an illegal immigrant and subsequently contacted immigration authorities, Balderston said.

Now, here is the thing. The Journal and other news outlets who covered this story are pandering (or making their bias VERY clear) to all of the amnesty/immigration reform activists by making the headline read “Pregnant Roswell Student Deported.” This is just another fine example of reframing the facts to play on our natural human compassion.

However, if you read the facts, you realize that the headline is misleading. The facts as outlined in the the article are simple:

1) The young woman, after all she is 18, is in the country illegally.
2) The young woman is breaking the law by driving without a driver’s license. [Speculation on my part: she also doesn’t have car insurance].
3) The young woman shows complete disregard of authority and the law by failing to produce a driver’s license despite being given several days reprieve to do so.
4) As a result of items two and three, it surfaces that the young woman is in the country illegally, and she gets deported.

Based on the facts, there are several alternate headlines that would have been more apropos:

  • Disregard for Authority Results in Deportation
  • Officer Gives Woman a Chance to Avoid Deportation
  • Driving Without License Results in Deportation
  • Notice to Illegals: Break the Law Get Deported
  • Officer Enforces Law Without Bias

I could go on, but it’s time to go to work.