April 20, 2006: AAF in the news:
AAF talked at length with a reporter from the Bergen Record about the persistent and exceedingly complex problems facing Arab and Muslim immigrants in the US, both legal or undocumented. We focused her attention to the impact of 9-11 and the ever recurring anti Arab and anti Muslim sentiments which preclude a reasonable judgment of the outstanding issues. However, and not so surprisingly, only one specific line from our interview was used in the article. Apparently, the writer had a specific agenda or objective to write about and she chose the one that met her needs. We read the article, and its main thrust was to show the noticeable absence of non Latino groups from the immigration debate. The writer included my one line quotation as indicative of our organization's position on this all important issue. AAF has been engaged in this immigration debate for a long while and acutely appropriate d the long range implication of any proposed solution to this both human and legal dilemma. We have opined on several occasions on this matter. We have also commented on the CLEAR Act and local enforcement agencies are not equipped to be immigration agents.

While it is not an unusual practice by reporters to use what fits their story line, AAF feels a breach of trust was broken by mischaracterizing our positions. We have since communicated our strong reservations to the paper's editor. AA

From the Bergen Record:

" The groundswell of protest over immigration reform in recent weeks has been called the birth of the immigrant civil rights movement.
But the vanguard of the movement to date has been distinctly Hispanic, leaving many to wonder where other immigrant groups stand on the issue, and why they aren't taking to the streets. More