Note to talking heads on Judge Sotomayor’s ethnic background

Posted on May 26, 2009
Filed Under journalism, politics |

As we got bombarded with non-stop coverage of Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, I couldn’t help but notice that some of the commentators and journalists seem to go straight for the immigration angle… even my favorite political reporter, CNN’s Candy Crowley. Candy just said that “[Sotomayor's] career is the dream of immigrants.” Some other journalists even in the Spanish-language media have gone as far as implying a direct link between Sotomayor’s nomination and immigration reform.

Folks, while this nomination is a great accomplishment for Judge Sotomayor and the Hispanic community, hopefully she will be considered on her own merits not her background.  However, if you can’t avoid talking about it at least make sure you have the geopolitical facts straight.

Luckily, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) was quick to point out that Sotomayor is not the child of immigrant parents.  NAHJ sent a fast warning to media and consumers asking them to “Avoid Confusion on Sotomayor.”  As they put it:

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists would encourage news organizations to avoid any confusion over Judge Sotomayor’s ethnic background. Her Puerto Rican parents are not immigrants, as some journalists have reported, since island-born residents are U.S. citizens, conferred by an act of Congress in 1917. People who move to the U.S. mainland from Puerto Rico are no more immigrants than those who move from Nebraska to New York.

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