Let's set aside the whole pro/anti, right/left paradigm when talking about this latest piece of PR Newswire material being touted by the mainstream media.
Donald Trump's vow to round up and deport all of America's undocumented immigrants if he is elected president could shrink the economy by around 2 percent, according to a study to be released on Thursday by conservative think tank the American Action Forum.
At no point in this Reuters report, or in most media stories on this, does it happen to mention the minor fact that the American Action Forum is militantly pro-amnesty.
And again, forget the paradigms. It's a simple matter of honesty to note that AAF had a strong previous position on the issue. Their "report" should be treated the same way as any report from an advocacy group. And yet that elementary piece of reporting never takes place.
Here's one of the usual pieces from AAF touting imaginary Tea Party support for amnesty.
The Partnership for a New American Economy, Americans for Tax Reform, and the Tea Party Express released a new survey today of Tea Party-aligned Republican primary voters’ attitudes toward immigration reform. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Tea Party voters are strongly supportive of immigration reform. More specifically, 71% of voters support getting immigration reform done this year. Even more compelling, 69% of voters would support a candidate who is in favor of broad immigration reform over one who supports only border security legislation.
Immigration reform was what pro-amnesty Republicans used to call amnesty. AAF defended Obama on immigration. It all but writes press releases for him on amnesty.
By far the most important way the budget addresses immigration is by emphasizing the economic benefits of comprehensive immigration reform. Benchmark immigration reform that increases legal immigration and moves to a more skills-based system will grow the economy and reduce the deficit. These are well-recognized benefits of immigration reform, and the administration is smart to acknowledge them.
Here's a letter from its lead guy along with Grover Norquist urging Boehner to pass amnesty.
My purpose here isn't to attack AAF. It's to point out what the media won't, that it's a pro amnesty group and its report attacking deportations should be seen in that light. That's the sort of thing that the media would report if it were in its interest. Since it isn't, it doesn't.