Media Immigration Atrocity (MIA) of the Week
The Associated Press ran a story on June 24 about the United Farm Workers' "Take Our Jobs" campaign, a tongue-in-cheek effort to prove that illegal workers are taking jobs that Americans won't do. The organizers are pushing for the AgJOBS bill, which would grant legal status to illegal agricultural workers. As the AP article notes, comedian Stephen Colbert featured the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on his show "The Colbert Report" on July 8.
Stephen Colbert may not know about the federal H-2a visa program that allows growers to hire an unlimited number of legal seasonal workers, but the Associated Press should. The AP reporter doesn't mention the H-2a program or growers' access to the legal guest worker system. Nor does the reporter note that only 4 percent of illegal workers work in agriculture (Pew Hispanic Trust, Tables 5 & 6) , the rest mostly work in construction, manufacturing, service and transportation workers. Those are jobs that Americans do, and workers within those industries have some of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
The article's glaring omission of these facts earn it the Media Immigration Atrocity of the Week.
