An NPR report today about the Obama administration's deferred action program for young undocumented immigrants quoted Americans For Legal Immigration PAC president William Gheen, who yesterday claimed that the program “will allow illegal aliens who are willing to lie about coming to the US as children to be given 'deferred status' and work permits starting immediately.”

On June 15, the Obama administration announced a plan that will give eligible undocumented youth a chance to avoid deportation and work in the country legally. That program went into effect today; and thousands have reportedly started the application process.

Gheen -- who went on to write that President Obama's action “will rapidly increase the number of illegal aliens feloniously voting in US elections, stealing your jobs and expecting future benefits” -- posted his screed on the website of ALIPAC, an anti-immigrant organization supported by the Federation for American Immigration Reform and allied with former Minutemen groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FAIR a hate group.

In light of this, it's hard to understand NPR's decision to lend Gheen credibility on the issue of deferred action for immigrants. And not only did NPR quote Gheen, it also failed to inform viewers of Gheen's extreme views of immigrants.

Indeed, ALIPAC is not known to hide its extremist views or what it thinks of policies that seek to help the undocumented population. In fact, the front page of the organization's website contains a hoard of inflammatory rhetoric that NPR should have been aware of.

Headlines that include “amnesty” or “illegals” or such phrases as “Obama releases violent illegal aliens upon American citizenry in mass dream amnesty” don't induce honest debate, let alone encourage meaningful discussion. They're red herrings meant to attract similar xenophobic rhetoric. 

Here is Gheen once again from yesterday:

Tomorrow, Wednesday August 15, 2012 is a day that will live in infamy if we fail in our mission.

[...]

Obama's Executive Decree Amnesty will likely end the reversal of illegal immigration in America for which we all have fought so hard to achieve and will bring a new flow of illegals into America who are expecting capitulation.

We need every national and local organization dedicated to fighting illegal immigration to launch all ships today! We need Congress to hear us and that will only happen if enough of you pick up your phone and call Congress together NOW!

Here he is on August 8, accusing immigrants of, among other things, carrying diseases:

August 15 is rapidly approaching and on this day the Obama administration will officially start handing out work permits to illegal aliens for $465. Any illegal alien willing to simply lie and say they were brought to America when young will qualify. Some initial estimates indicate the first wave could be as high as 1.8 million.

If you have not been directly negatively impacted by illegal immigration and open borders yet through job loss, decreased wages, increased higher local taxes, loss of neighborhood security, degraded healthcare and educational resources, drug addiction, infectious disease, or violent assault or death of a loved one, your chances of direct impact will be increasing very soon. Our border patrol agents are saying this renegade Amnesty move by Obama is going to bring a new flood of drugs and violence to American streets!

Next week we are going to need your help as we launch a new wave of calls and activism to do our best to stop the Obama Decreed Amnesty that bypasses Congress, the public, the elections, existing federal laws, and the US Constitution to energize Obama's illegal alien voters who plan to steal the 2012 elections to a greater degree than their theft of votes in 2010. [emphasis added]

And July 27:

The news coming in from around the country confirms what we had warned of previously. Not only is Obama's administration knowingly releasing violent criminal and sexual predator illegal aliens upon the American public, but the latest “limited” Dream Act Amnesty decree is more of a blanket Amnesty.

All of the criteria Obama and DHS set forth for illegal aliens to possibly qualify for “deferred prosecution” or deportation are a farce!

Obama has nullified existing federal laws, the Congress, the elections, public sentiment, and the US Constitution to enact a dictatorial form of Amnesty to aid his illegal alien invasion.

We also have direct evidence that the Democrats are targeting illegal aliens and registering them to vote in key states like Virginia!

As the Anti-Defamation League has noted, Gheen “regularly demonizes immigrants as drunk drivers, gang members, invaders, murderers, and disease-carriers.”

And yet Gheen continues to be a fixture in the mainstream media's coverage of immigration issues.