Letter from Mary Anne Whelan

Headline Was Objectionable

Was it really necessary to use the word “undocumented” in your headline concerning someone charged with child pornography? To do so is an implicit boost for unwarranted generalizations—by our incumbent County Sheriff Devlin, among others—slurring immigrants, documented or not, as a rationale for seizure and deportation by ICE.

The fact of the matter regarding that population is that on the whole immigrants have lower crime rates overall than the rest of the population (ref. report of the American Immigration Council, Oct. 2024: “Debunking the Myth of Immigrants and Crime”).

I trust you will in the future be sure to headline all reports of serious offenses as being committed by Native or naturalized American citizens, when that is the case. That would only be fair, would it not?

Mary Anne Whelan
Cooperstown