Major Media Stories Ignore Immigration Status of High-Profile Murderer
Illegal Esdras Marroquin GomezPled Guilty for Murder |
On Monday, May 6th, Esdras Marroquin Gomez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, pled guilty to the murder of philanthropist and community volunteer Lois Colley. Gomez killed Colley on her 300-acre horse farm in Westchester County, NY by beating her head with a fire extinguisher. Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino Jr. described the “murder scene” as “horrendous” and said that Colley was slain in the “most brutal fashion.”
Colley, who was 83 years old, was married for 65 years to Eugene Colley, a successful entrepreneur. The couple owned a small bakery in the 1960s, which they converted to a McDonalds. Over time, the Colleys built one of the largest McDonalds franchise firms in the country, with about 100 locations.
The Westchester Journal News profiled Lois Colley as a devoted family woman, equestrian enthusiast, and supporter of “numerous local causes.” Many journalists are calling her a “socialite,” but her husband says: “She was not a socialite. She was a farmer, a gardener.”
Due to the prominence of the Colleys and the gory nature of the crime, numerous media outlets are covering Gomez’s guilty plea and details of the murder. However, many of their articles exclude the fact that Gomez is an illegal immigrant, despite the relevance of this to current policy disputes about illegal immigration and violence.
That includes, for example, reports by the New York Times, the Daily Beast, NBC New York, Telemundo, the Associated Press, and scores of outlets that are running the Associated Press piece, such as ABC News, the Washington Post, Yahoo News, Newsday, the Chicago Tribune, and dozens of smaller, local publications.
Some of the articles also create an impression that Gomez was in the U.S. legally by mentioning that he was seeking workers’ compensation for an alleged injury that occurred on Colley’s farm. Yet, contrary to the notion that such benefits are only available to people who legally live in the U.S., the Journal News reveals that unauthorized immigrants are “entitled to file a workers’ compensation claim in New York.”
The same major media outlets sometimes emphasize the demographics of violent offenders when they accord with leftist narratives. Over the past year, for instance, the New York Times has run headlines like:
- “White Man Accused of Brandishing Gun at Black Teenagers in a McDonald’s Is Arrested.”
- “White Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Shooting Black Men After Hurricane Katrina.”
- examined only “a portion of the total population of criminal aliens who may be incarcerated” in the U.S.
- doesn’t include homicides that didn’t result in arrests, which comprise about 40% of all murders in the U.S. and higher rates for murders by minorities.
By disregarding key facts, publishing outright falsehoods, and using analytical fallacies, major media outlets have routinely painted a misleading picture of illegal immigration and crime. Contrary to their repeated claim that illegal immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes than the general U.S. population, data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security show the polar opposite is true.
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James D. Agresti is the president of Just Facts, a think tank dedicated to publishing rigorously documented facts about public policy issues. H/T The Tennessee Star
Tags: James D. Agresti, Major Media Stories Ignore Immigration Status of High-Profile Murderer, The Tennessee Star To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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