Jim-as an investigative reporter Iam sure you research the facts thoroughly before going with a story.I have found your stories to be usually,with an exception here and there,responsibly done and valid.No one is perfect.
Tat said,Charlie got into the immigration issue with apparently no hard facts at his disposal because he didn't take the time or effort to find them out.Being a columnist is no excuse for vilifying people and suggesting they are de facto Gestapo gents because they do a hard job mandated by Federal law.
i recall that in past years you were in the INs office a few times.I was an agent for almost 21 years,12 in Providence.We never spoke,but I assume you educated yourself on whatever it was you were there about before going with a story.
I have no axe to grind with the media.Kevin O'Connor of the Pawtucket Times and Lee Dykas of the Journal reported fairly and accurately on immigration enforcement activities for years.
When I was assigned to Chicago Roberta Baskin of ABC did investigative reports of great depth and accuracy on this issue.She came to INS first with her informtion and reported on the investigations after they were prosecuted.One involved voter fraud using illegal aliens.The other involved corrupt state employees issuing licenses to illegals(sound familiar?).Over 20 employees were arrested and 13 driving schools shut down.She knew her information involved serious felonies and acted responsibly.
I also had a ride-along reporter from the Des Moines Register for awhile.He wrote accurate accounts of what he saw and heard.
Maybe Charlie was a fount of knowledge about statehouse politics,I'll take your word for it,but he knows next to nothing about the real world of illegal aliens.This hasn't stopped him from demagoguery disguised as opinion.
I met Charlie a time or two,very briefly,and we don't know each other on a name basis.I didn't like him right off the bat,to be perfectly honest.
His extreme liberal point of view turns me off.But what really bothers me is his irresponsibility in inflaming passions on a false basis vis a vis the immigration issue.
While we are on the subject your colleague Bill Rappleye ought to look up the term "undocumented citizen" he used on tv-ain't no such critter.
To be fair,Jim I have found your reporting on immigration issues to be evenhanded and accurate in most cases.