The Dallas Morning News Names the Illegal Immigrant as 2007 Texan of the Year

From Freedom Folks:

DALLAS, Dec. 28 /PRNewswire/ — The Dallas Morning News will name the illegal immigrant as its Texan of the Year in the paper’s Sunday, December 30 editions. The newspaper’s Editorial Board recognizes the myriad, profound ways in which this group of people impacts Texas, ranging from the economy to politics to the most basic sense of culture. Lamenting that “there seems to be little middle ground in [the] debate,” the Board notes that “spectacular fights over their presence … broke out across Texas this past year, adding to the national pressure cooker as only Texas can.”

“Everything’s bigger in Texas, and history and geography guarantee that the immigration problem is no different. And many issues are flaring sooner here,” the editorial reads, as it dedicates unusual length to explore all sides of the issue and put a face on the people at the center of the debate. “Illegal immigration exacerbates the natural tension in American society by injecting more change than can be absorbed — and by defying laws designed to control the rate of change,” the editorial reads.

“The story of the illegal immigrant in Texas is rich in history,
complexity and controversy, and the impact on the state is pervasive,” said Keven Ann Willey, vice president and editorial page editor of The Dallas Morning News. “Because of this complexity, and also because of their illegal status, it was not possible for us to call out a single individual, but as the Board debated it became clear to us that as a group, these people merited recognition.”

You can red some reader comments at the editors blog here.

I thought this one summed it up nicely…

Unbelievable that you would pick a group of ILLEGAL NON-TEXANS as your “Texan” of the year. Clearly you’re not Texan yourselves and have no concern for what those of us who are would feel over this kind of selection. I guess we should not be surprised given that Time picked Putin, but We won’t miss you when your organization is no longer around. This type of “reporting” is symbolic of your views, which don’t match those of your readers. Take a look at your circulation and ad numbers and hire some new “reporters”. More…