U.S. immigration bill proposal a top story for one country abroad

While the Boston Marathon bombings and fertilizer plant explosion in West Texas had Latin American news outlets scouring for wire reports, press from one Spanish-speaking country maintained a physical presence in Washington for the bipartisan immigration bill introduced Wednesday morning. Yes, it’s obvious – Mexico.

Picture 133_2Like media in the U.S., El Universal, one of the largest newspapers in Mexico City, published a straightforward piece titled, Immigration reform plan presented before the Senate.

Unsurprisingly, the paper first quoted Florida senator Marco Rubio, who spearheaded Republican outreach. El Universal details the border security, path to citizenship, interior enforcement and immigration overhaul portions of the bill but they are buried two-thirds of the way down. The article’s subhead demonstrates the portion it finds most important:

The project contemplates more severe border control measures that, until applied, will prevent any undocumented immigrant to solicit a temporary visa.

Picture 135Six hours later on Wednesday, El Universal published a second article titled, Left and right in the U.S. criticize immigration projectbreaking down the political leanings, arguments and the like.

Halfway through this story, El Universo departs from the alarming tone characterizing the first story’s headline and highlights the bill’s potential upside for immigrants in a paragraph:

With these developments, the U.S.’s immigration system would move from emphasis on family ties with citizens or permanent residents to determine who could enter the country, to a focus based on the abilities and opportunities for employment of future immigrants.

El Universal warmed up to the bill even more the next day. The headlineU.S. drives immigration reformsuggests a majority of legislators and Americans support the proposed bill – something presumptuous. If that doesn’t come off at least slightly enthusiastic, the accompany photo and its caption give it away:

Picture 132_3

 PRIDE. Immigrants take an oath of citizenship at a ceremony celebrated yesterday in New York.

Picture 136And to clear up any doubts that El Universal is looking forward to immigration reform, check out the headline of the short, second piece today. The headline reads, “Positive, the advances sought: Mexico.”

An infographic package called “The route toward immigration reform” created earlier this year reiterates El Universal’s commitment to informing Mexico’s people about this issue that pertains to them at a larger scale than other Latinos due to proximity.

Infographic by El Universal
Infographic by El Universal

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