Newspaper Vandalized for Using the Word “Illegals” Refuses to Back Down

You may recall the California newspaper that had its headquarters vandalized by activists who support lawbreaking illegal immigrants. The illegals attacked the paper for daring to use the word “illegal” in its reporting on immigration. Well, now the paper is saying it won’t back down and will continue to use the word “illegal” to describe illegal immigrants.

Early this year around the same time the world was consumed with the news of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, the Santa Barbara News-Press had its building defaced by supporters of illegal immigrants. But now they say they won’t buckle to pressure from activists who support breaking our laws.

A California newspaper, the Santa Barbara News-Press, recently featured front-page headlines that used the word “illegals” to describe immigrants who are living in the United States illegally.

Several days after the first headline ran, the newspaper’s offices were vandalized with paintball splatters and graffiti that read: “Fight back” and “The border is illegal not the people who cross it.”

In the following days, demonstrators gathered outside the building, chanting and marching in protest of the “racist” word “illegals,” while others came out in support of the paper.

Another more recent front-page article that featured the word “illegals” was written by Scott Steepleton, the city editor at News-Press.

Steepleton asserted on “Fox and Friends Weekend” this morning that the newspaper used an appropriate term to describe people who are living in the country illegally.

He added that News-Press has used the word “illegals” for at least 10 years and they are standing by their choice of language.

“We don’t believe in capitulating to people who are going to tell us how to run our newspaper,” Steepleton said. “We don’t ask people what we should write beforehand and we’re not going to ask people what we should write beforehand going forward.”

He said he believes that many other newspapers and editors have changed their language due to pressure from the public.

“We are a private business in the United States of America in the state of California and we are choosing to run ourselves the way we see fit,” Steepleton stated.

Good for them!

Warner Todd Huston

Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago-based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart's BigGovernment.com, BigJournalsim.com and all Breitbart News' other sites, RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, and many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs across the country to discuss his opinion editorials and current events as well as appearing on TV networks such as CNN, Fox News, Fox Business Network, and various Chicago-based news programs. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the book "Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture" which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of PubliusForum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston and follow him on Twitter, on Google Plus , and Facebook.

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