Monday, October 5, 2009

Police: Maria Gurrolla's immigration status was "not relevant" to solving assault and abduction of Gurrolla's days-old son

If someone posing as the IRS attacked you at work, would the press interview your accountant?

Boy found after 4-day search

Even before Maria Gurrolla's days-old son Yair Anthony Carillo was found after only four days, thanks to amazing police and investigative work, the abductor's ruse led the press to dedicate part of their stories to the immigration status of the mother (saying it was "unclear" or "unknown").

Why should the ruse of the criminal abductor lead to reporting on the immigration status of the victim? If someone posing as the IRS attacked you at work, would there be an investigation into your tax returns?

An AP report by Kristin Hall simultaneously brings up the immigration status of Gurrolla while pointing out that Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said that her immigration status was "not significant to the investigation":
Police said they think the mom has been in Nashville about 10 years, but it isn't clear if she is an immigrant or a citizen. Her family has declined to talk about the issue, and police spokesman Don Aaron said her citizenship was not significant to the investigation.
According to a police press release, Gurrolla had to be hospitalized with stab wounds "to her head, neck, breast and thigh." It was also reported that Gurrolla had a collapsed lung as a result of the attack.

In 2008, journalist asked when immigration status is relevant

A year and a half ago in a column on Poynter.org, Mizanur Rahman of the Houston Chronicle asked the question, when is it relevant to report on the immigration status of crime suspects?

I'm wondering when it is relevant to report on the immigration status of victims.

Child abduction has hit Hispanic Nashvillians before

Kristin Hall's AP article rightly points out that an attempted abduction of another Hispanic Nashvillian child occurred in 2005, but with much worse results: the mother and her 3-year-old daughter were killed.

1 comment:

  1. The genie is out of the bag; the press should ask the police if they will sign a U visa application for the mother.

    ReplyDelete

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