REGION: Reality TV show to depict homeland security

Human rights groups concerned about depiction of immigrants

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer | Tuesday, December 30, 2008 5:37 PM PST



Shown is a scene from "Homeland Security USA," a new reality TV show about the nation's Department of Homeland Security that debuts Jan. 6. Portions of the series were filmed along the border in San Diego.


A reality TV show set to begin airing next week looks at the nation's Department of Homeland Security, but it's already raising concerns among some human rights groups, who say the series does not appear to present a full picture of life on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The show, called "Homeland Security USA," which was partly filmed in San Diego, follows the men and women who protect the nation's land borders, airports and seaports. But some immigrant rights advocates and Web bloggers say the series appears to be nothing more than propaganda.

The show's producer, Arnold Shapiro, has said in news releases that the series simply aims to tell the story of the employees of the department.

"They are ordinary men and women working against an epic landscape," Shapiro said in a press statement. "They have a job that is dangerous, difficult and always unpredictable."

Shapiro could not be reached for comment.

"Homeland Security USA," which includes 13 hourlong episodes, is set to begin airing Jan. 6 on ABC affiliates.

The show is billed as having "unprecedented access" to the agencies that make up the department, including the U.S. Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

The Department of Homeland Security was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to better coordinate the nation's efforts against future attacks. It brought 22 agencies and their 218,000 employees under one department in the largest government shuffle since the Department of Defense was created in 1947.

Christian Ramirez, a national coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker human rights organization, said his group is concerned the series may be one-sided and gloss over the reasons that lead hundreds of thousands of people to risk their lives crossing the border illegally each year.

"The biggest fear is that it will depict migrants in an unfair manner," Ramirez said.

Without including all sides of the volatile topic of illegal immigration, the show's producers run the risk of fueling anti-immigrant sentiment among some people, Ramirez said.

Enrique Morones, who heads the San Diego-based immigrant rights group Border Angels, called the reality show "propaganda."

Ramirez said his group sent a letter to the network asking for a private screening before the show airs.

In an e-mail reply from a network official provided to the North County Times by the American Friends Service Committee, the network declined the request for an early screening.

"We appreciate that there are a variety of ways to explore this issue, and a variety of perspectives from which to do so," wrote Brad Jamison, ABC's vice president of corporate initiatives. "However, the current format of the show serves the producers' intention to tell more personal stories of some of the challenges facing the thousands of people who work for the Department of Homeland Security."

Jamison could not be reached via e-mail or through his assistant. A publicist for the show declined to comment.

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, a group that advocates for stricter immigration controls, said the groups opposed to the show are trying to censor content that might show the chaos at the border.

"I think that any show that would show the truth about the border will come under attack," Gheen said.

Some Web bloggers also have been critical of the show, saying it lacks a critical perspective and instead portrays immigration enforcement agents as "heroes."

"While the show will highlight the main mission of the department's 218,000 employees, it will likely not focus on the less flattering incidents, like the DHS official arrested for hiring illegal immigrants, the department's challenges with government contracting or the inability of airport screeners to unionize," wrote Ed O'Keefe, a blogger for The Washington Post.

In one promotional sneak preview, the show depicts agents with the Transportation Security Administration searching through a woman's luggage and finding belly dancer's outfits. The woman tells the agents that she intends to work as a belly dancer, but agents tell her that it is illegal to do so without a work permit.

In another preview, Customs and Border Protection agents find drugs packed into the front bumper of a car as the driver attempts to enter the U.S. through a checkpoint at El Paso. The driver is shown being led away in handcuffs by agents.

At the port of entry in San Ysidro, "a fake license plate tips a border officer to a life-threatening situation," according to promotional material, but the media release does not say what the situation was.

Michael Fisher, chief of the Border Patrol's San Diego sector, said part of the show was filmed in San Diego last year, but he said he was unaware of what specifically was filmed or when it would be shown. He said during a recent press conference that his main concern was that the agency be portrayed accurately.

"We just want to make sure that they get the facts straight," Fisher said. "We didn't want some Hollywood description of what our mission is."

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/12 ... 6237f4.txt

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/12 ... 6237f4.txt