Reporting on immigration: More nuanced conversations needed, “it doesn’t start and stop at the border”

By Stephania Rodriguez

The arrival of thousands of migrants in Chicago (most of them from Central and South America) in recent months has stirred up conversations about how journalists should cover their stories. Though it’s not a new phenomenon in our country’s (or humanity’s) history, it’s a topic that undergoes continuous transformations in discourse, and therefore, deserves to open discussion about how it should be covered.

Maria Inés Zamudio, an award-winning investigative journalist and current reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, has been covering immigration for over a decade. It’s a nuanced topic that she said takes time and effort to understand and must be approached cautiously.

It was Zamudio’s identity and cultural background that would help lead her to reporting on immigration.  A Mexican immigrant herself, her journalistic career began with an internship at the Springfield News-Leader in Southwest Missouri. There her editor looked to her for guidance on how to cover the area’s migrant community.

“I was in my early 20’s,” Zamudio said. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, and it was difficult. But it was the beginning [of my understanding] that because of who I am and my language and cultural skills, I have to cover this community.”

From there Zamudio dedicated time to enhancing her understanding of immigration policy and history. She said any journalist interested in immigration reporting should do the same.

“Immigration reporting, it doesn’t start, and it doesn’t stop at the border,” she said. “This new wave of immigrants – it’s just that, another wave of immigrants. So, I would argue that if you want to do immigration reporting, to really study history and to understand how those policies really influence the flow of migration, and why certain things are the way that they are.”

Knowing your facts and history can help you uncover more ideas for stories, she said.  The “hidden gems” of stories that are not being told.

Zamudio’s reporting has highlighted the consequences of miseducation of undocumented immigrants with U.S. law, U.S. military veterans deported under the Trump administration, and the dangers that Central American women face while traveling through Mexico as they try to reach the United States.

As she continued to learn and cover the beat, Zamudio said she was always concerned about the consequences her reporting might bring to the people she spoke to.  She said it’s important for journalists to give their sources “informed consent,” and take the time to explain what their participation in a story will look like and what they may be risking.

Today, some media organizations have begun to create and share guides online that outline standards of practice for immigration reporting, something Zamudio said she didn’t have when she began her career.  Some examples she referenced include the National Association for Hispanic Journalists’ Cultural Competence Handbook and the Dart Center.

“When I came into this business, we were still having conversations about whether or not to use the term ‘illegal immigrants’,” she said. “And back then, AP Style was very much [recommending the use of the term].”

Even after informing themselves with all the knowledge and the best standards of practice, reporting on immigration or any story that involves trauma can lead journalists to find themselves in situations that they’re not sure how to handle.  For young journalists, Zamudio said there is one tool they can always use as a guiding compass when encountering an ethical dilemma: themselves.

“What I tell young people is, try and figure out what you are comfortable living with,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, the editors, or whomever pressures you to do something that you may or may not want to do, it’s not their name or their story, it’s yours.”

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