A horrific crime occurred in New York City on Sunday, December 22nd: a woman was set on fire while sleeping on a subway train. The suspect is a Guatemalan migrant who was in the United States illegally. However, the reporting of this detail varied significantly across news outlets with differing political leanings.
Right-leaning news outlets prominently featured the suspect’s immigration status in their headlines. Fox News’ headline read, “Suspect accused of burning woman to death on NYC subway is previously deported illegal immigrant.” The New York Post stated, “Fiend accused of burning woman to death on NYC subway is illegal migrant from Guatemala,” while The Daily Wire declared, “Illegal arrested for setting woman on fire on NYC subway was already deported by Trump.” These outlets consistently referred to the suspect as an “illegal immigrant,” “illegal migrant,” or simply “illegal.”
Conversely, left-leaning outlets largely omitted the suspect’s immigration status from their headlines, referring to him as simply the “man” or “suspect” arrested. The Associated Press headline read, “Man faces murder charges in the death of a woman who was lit on fire in New York City subway.” Similar headlines appeared in CBS News (“NYC police charge man with murder of woman set on fire”) and The New York Times (“Suspect charged in fatal burning of woman”).
The man charged, 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, was confirmed to be in the country illegally after being deported in 2018. Authorities haven’t confirmed when he re-entered the U.S. or how long he had been in New York, but sources placed him in the city by April 2023, residing in city shelters.
While some left-leaning outlets omitted Zapeta’s immigration status from their headlines, they did report it later in their articles. However, the placement of this detail differed significantly from the right-leaning approach. The right-leaning New York Post led with the suspect’s immigration status: “An illegal Guatemalan immigrant was charged with first-degree murder Monday in the gruesome torching death of a sleeping Brooklyn straphanger,” the report stated. Similarly, Fox News and The Daily Wire included this detail in their first paragraphs. In contrast, left-leaning outlets prioritized other details earlier in their stories. The Associated Press mentioned Zapeta’s immigration status in the third paragraph, while The New York Times and CBS News placed it in their fourth.
The choice of terminology regarding the suspect’s immigration status reflects a long-standing editorial and ethical debate in journalism. Left-leaning outlets like CBS News and the AP referred to Zapeta as someone “in the country illegally,” avoiding the terms “migrant” or “illegal immigrant.” The New York Times used “undocumented immigrant” once. Right-leaning outlets, such as The New York Post and The Daily Wire, used “illegal Guatemalan migrant” and “illegal immigrant.” AllSides, a media bias rating organization, explains why both “undocumented immigrant” and “illegal immigrant” are problematic terms. They state that “Undocumented Immigrant” is overly vague and doesn’t convey the illegality of the act, while “Illegal Immigrant” is technically imprecise because individuals cannot be “illegal,” only their actions.
Beyond the choice of language, the framing of the story itself differed significantly between left- and right-leaning outlets. Some right-leaning outlets linked the crime to broader concerns about increased migrant crime and the need for deportations. Left-leaning outlets, conversely, framed the story within the context of rising subway crimes in New York, while noting that overall crime rates are down. Both sides criticized the other’s coverage, with Fox News highlighting the omission of the suspect’s immigration status and The New York Times pointing out Republicans’ quick connection between the murder and Democratic immigration policies.
This high-profile story, given the graphic nature of the crime and the suspect’s background, will likely remain in the news for some time. This analysis highlights the contrasting approaches to covering a significant news story and demonstrates how news outlets can frame facts differently based on their political perspectives.