NAHJ calls for release of Manuel Duran

Washington, D.C., April 6, 2018 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) called today for the immediate release of Manuel Duran.  He is the owner of Memphis Noticias and has been a dedicated voice for Latino communities.

“The detention of Manuel and attempt to suppress his reporting is an outrage to our public’s right to an independent and necessary press,” NAHJ President Brandon Benavides said.

Journalists should not be at risk for doing their jobs or exercising the right of freedom of the press. Immigration and Customs Enforcement need to free Duran because he should never have been arrested.

NAHJ also continues to remind media covering this story to do so fairly.  In a responsibility to inform the public and set the tone for how people in the country address immigration and discuss immigrants, the association urges journalists not to use the term “illegals” as a noun to refer to people living in the country illegally.  No human being is illegal.

The First Amendment in our Constitution gives us the freedom of the press.  We must use the correct language to fulfill this responsibility and do our jobs to tell compelling stories that affect our communities across the country.

About NAHJ The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has approximately 2,200 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.