Help a brave journalist
The case for asylum for Emilio Gutierrez Soto
Today is World Press Freedom Day — a day to appreciate what a free press means and what, for some, it costs.
American journalists working at home generally are free from physical intimidation and government interference in their work.
In other parts of the world, journalism is a death sentence. Consider Mexico, where at least 14 journalists — more than in any other country — met their deaths doing their jobs last year. When former newspaper reporter Emilio Gutierrez Soto and his son, Oscar, say they fear they will be killed if they are returned to their Mexican homeland, that isn’t hyperbole. It’s an assertion informed by the evidence.
Yet an immigration appeals court very well could send them home. They’re now in federal detention in El Paso, Texas, hoping the attention they’re receiving helps win them asylum in the country they fled to legally — they sought assistance at an official border crossing — in 2008. Various news organizations have profiled them; the Pittsburgh PostGazette’s story appeared online April 12 and in print April 29. Twenty journalism organizations, including the American Society of News Editors and the National Press Club, have filed a brief in support of their case. Various editorial boards have called on the U.S. to grant them asylum; now, this one does, too.
Mr. Gutierrez’s transgression was writing stories the Mexican military found embarrassing and distasteful. Before fleeing to the U.S., he received threats, had his home ransacked and heard whispers of a plot on his life. In America, misconduct by one arm of government is subject to review by another, and there are civil rights and victims’ groups to help those unsure of where to turn. In Mexico, law enforcement and the military long have been co-conspirators in drug running, human trafficking and a litany of other crimes. Corruption is deep and wide. Mr. Gutierrez and his son had nowhere to turn, except the border.
After arriving in the U.S. and spending an initial period in federal custody, the two were free for many years. Now, they’re locked up again as their case heads to a conclusion. Last summer, a judge ruled against the two, partly because he didn’t see credible evidence of a specific threat against them. However, that ignores the pair’s own testimony about their experiences, and it’s at odds with the well-documented risk to journalists who run afoul of Mexico’s authorities for one reason or another.
Criminal cases have turned on less circumstantial evidence than what is available here. Granting the pair asylum is not only the right decision in this case but also a way to underscore the importance of press freedom. The government of Mexico let Mr. Gutierrez and his son down; the U.S. government should not.