Link to Washington Post Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/03/07/the-dangerous-game-donald-trump-is-playing-with-ms-13/?utm_term=.32a3b84d10ab

Throughout much of the existing literature on how the media portrays immigration, a consistent theme of the “Latino Threat” emerges.  This is when newspapers and media groups choose to focus on the negatives of immigration often citing criminal activity or the strain foreign born residents have on America’s health care.  Marisa Abrajano outlines in her book White Backlash how a disproportionate amount of stories reference and depict teenage Latino boys in American detention centers or images of them at the border.  Although there is some truth to this claim, this negative rhetoric fosters fear in residents and refuses to acknowledge the reality of the situation and confirms false stereotypes about Mexican immigrants.

In the piece from the Washington Post, this political tactic is utilized by President Trump as he overwhelmingly warns citizens about the threat of the MS-13 gang.  Franco likened Trump’s claims about this gang to public opinion about the Pachucos in the 1940s.  He contends that the political propaganda at this time turned into public hysteria regarding the group and resulted in unjust arrests and riots.  He implies that it is the news outlets prerogative to provide facts about current events and not influence polarization about heated topics among their readers.

Do you see similar trends in today’s media pushing the narrative of outsiders unwilling to assimilate, and labeling these aliens as criminals and threats to American society?  Is the threat of the MS-13 gang proportional to the amount of national attention Trump gives them? If so, how prevalent is this issue and what can be done to halt this destructive movement?  How does false and degrading rhetoric pigeon hole the Latino community and lead to violence/discrimination?   What do you make of the new wave of sympathetic news depicting children being taken away from their families, and unregulated violence towards this community?