On his November 5 show, 630 KHOW-AM host Peter Boyles continued for the third straight day criticizing the Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, the Greeley Tribune, and the Fort Collins Coloradoan for publishing November 1 articles about an Urban Institute and National Council of La Raza study on the impact of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) worksite raids on the children of illegal immigrants. Boyles guest Weld County District Attorney Kenneth Buck agreed with Boyles' contention that articles about the study in all four newspapers “pretend[ed]” to “do it as a news story,” saying that “they [the newspapers] should've charged for advertising, I guess.”

Boyles again omitted the fact that all of the November 1 articles he criticized as “advocacy journalism” on a previous broadcast reported not only the study's findings, but also criticism of the study from immigration officials and other sources, as Colorado Media Matters pointed out. Boyles and Buck also failed to mention that November 2 articles in the News and the Tribune reported on a November 1 press conference held by Buck and Weld County Sheriff John Cooke, during which Buck criticized the Urban Institute/La Raza study as “disingenuous.” Boyles in fact appeared to quote statistics about Weld County's illegal immigrant prison population from the November 2 News article but omitted that it reported Buck's criticism of the study.

During the broadcast, Boyles drew an analogy between the newspapers' publishing articles about the Urban Institute/La Raza study and their publishing articles about a tobacco-company funded study on tobacco, saying, "[M]y analysis of it was Liggett & Myers funds a study that tobacco was harmless, and the Post, News, the Fort Collins Coloradoan, and the Greeley Tribune run the story. That's what we just watched happen." Buck agreed, stating, “Right. Yeah, it was a pretty self-serving report.” He later added, “Well, they [the newspapers] should've charged for advertising, I guess.”

Later, after Buck stated that “part” of the newspapers' coverage “was interesting” because "[t]hey also quoted the ICE officials" and “didn't just cover one side” of the story, Boyles dismissed Buck's defense of the papers by saying, “Yeah, but. I mean, it was a La Raza-funded story,” to which Buck replied, “Right.”

Boyles and Buck also failed to mention the November 2 News and Tribune articles about Buck's press conference criticizing the Urban Institute/La Raza study. According to the News article, headlined “Officials criticize report on ICE raids,” Buck “on Thursday criticized as 'disingenuous' a report released a day earlier that documented the impact of immigration enforcement on children.” The News further reported:

He joined other top county law enforcement in a news conference to criticize the report, which detailed the economic and emotional impact on illegal immigrants caught up in large work site raids, and to speak about the impact of illegal immigration on local crime.

“I think the key here is that every one of those people arrested was someone who committed identity theft,” he said, referring to a raid last year at a Swift & Co. meat-processing plant.

“We arrest drug dealers, murderers and other criminals.

”Many times these folks have children. It's the choice of the parent who has the kids; it's not the government's fault for displacing these families."

Similarly, the Tribune reported that “Weld District Attorney Ken Buck called the conference in response to Wednesday's Urban Institute report, which indicated a high negative impact on the children of men and women arrested in immigration raids last year in Greeley and other cities.” The Tribune also reported, “Buck stated that any parent who commits a crime has put their choices above their family. And in the case of illegal aliens, 'Those individuals chose to come here illegally.' ”

Still later in his discussion with Buck, Boyles presented statistics mirroring those in the November 2 News article -- identifying his source as “John Cooke” -- but he did not note that the article reported Buck's criticism of the study:

BOYLES: I read out of 885 people booked in Weld last month, 113 were illegals. That's greater than 14 percent, isn't it?

BUCK: Yeah, I'm not sure. The number that the sheriff told me the other day was --

BOYLES: OK, here's the numbers I have. Out of 885 people booked in Weld last month, 113 were illegals. The annual cost is nearly $2 million to house illegals in jail in Weld County last year. My source is John Cooke.

BUCK: Good source.

According to the November 2 News article, after criticizing the ICE raid report, “Buck and Cooke then turned the discussion to local crime and illegal immigration”:

A number of recent statistics were cited, including:

• Out of 885 people booked in Weld County last month, 113 were illegal immigrants.
• In September, 126 out of 828 booked were undocumented.
• The annual cost of housing illegal immigrant inmates is nearly $2 million.

From the November 5 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Peter Boyles Show:

BOYLES: I want to get your take on the Rocky Mountain News, Denver Post, I guess the Fort Collins Coloradoan, and the Greeley Tribune on Thursday all running a story that was in essence -- well, it comes about because of La Raza funding it -- on the impact of the ICE raids. Now, to me, it's more than laugh-out-loud funny, but at the same time, the Rocky and the Post actually run identical pictures of the same people. Did you -- I'm sure, given what you do for a living, you read those reports.

BUCK: I did.

BOYLES: Speak up real loud and tell us your reaction.

BUCK: Well, I'll tell you, in law enforcement we arrest people every day. Sometimes those people have kids and, unfortunately, the kids are, suffer as a result of their parents' bad choices. This is no different. When someone commits identity theft, and 262 people in Greeley at the Swift plant committed identity theft -- they were arrested, they were deported, and some of those, a small percentage of those, had kids and that's unfortunate. The ICE officials told me that when they interviewed someone who was a single parent with children at home, they did not deport that person for humanitarian reasons.

BOYLES: [laughs] I always thought about, you know, somebody's got a meth lab and they got a kid in there. Do they -- what do they do with that? I mean, they take the kid.

BUCK: Right.

BOYLES: I think it's fascinating. First of all, my analysis of it was Liggett & Myers funds a study that tobacco was harmless, and the Post, News, the Fort Collins Coloradoan, and the Greeley Tribune run the story. That's what we just watched happen.

BUCK: Right. Yeah, it was a pretty self-serving report.

BOYLES: But why would they all do it --

BUCK: It didn't tell us anything we didn't already know.

BOYLES: No, but why would they do it and pretend? Why would the Post and News do it and the other two papers pretend to do it as a news story?

BUCK: Well, they should've charged for advertising, I guess.

BOYLES: Well, I think you're right. But, and, of course, I don't know if you had an opportunity to compare the photos in the Rocky and the Post. They were the same people, only one was in a big picture, small picture, big picture, small picture. They ran -- you don't think that those people were just happened to walk by that news conference when those pictures were taken?

BUCK: Is this the lady that only gave her first name?

BOYLES: Yeah, she's so afraid that she would only show her picture. [laughs] I'd rather -- look, if you don't know who I look like, I'll give you my name.

[Buck laughs]

BOYLES: But, I mean, but do you think for a second that those people just happened to be walking down the street when that happened and came over to watch it?

BUCK: No, it was staged and --

BOYLES: Of course.

BUCK: -- you know, it was staged by folks who work at the university here, which is always the opposition to enforcing the law in Greeley.

BOYLES: But why would the Post and News and the other two papers bite like that if, I mean, 'cause you and I figured it out and we're -- I'm certainly not the smartest guy. I mean, they were force feeding --

BUCK: Well, I tell you, part of it was interesting. They also quoted the ICE officials, and I thought the ICE officials gave a real balanced version of what happened at the Swift plant. I was glad that they didn't just cover one side.

BOYLES: Yeah, but. I mean, it was a La Raza-funded story.

BUCK: Right.

BOYLES: And then it, make it worse, the Denver Post has a whole box of recommendations how to do a better raid and it's, course, by La Raza. Well, like I keep saying, this is almost like having Liggett & Myers find the right people to tell you it's OK to smoke. And then the Rocky and Post and the Fort Collins Coloradoan and the Greeley Tribune all run the story.

[...]

BOYLES: What percentage of people in Weld County jail are illegal?

BUCK: 14 percent. At least 14 percent.

BOYLES: I read out of 885 people booked in Weld last month, 113 were illegals. That's greater than 14 percent, isn't it?

BUCK: Yeah, I'm not sure. The number that the sheriff told me the other day was --

BOYLES: OK, here's the numbers I have. Out of 885 people booked in Weld last month, 113 were illegals. The annual cost is nearly $2 million to house illegals in jail in Weld County last year. My source is John Cooke.

BUCK: Good source.

BOYLES: OK. Well, that should tell you somethin'.

BUCK: That's outrageous.

BOYLES: Yeah, that should tell you somethin'.