Mexican Journalist Granted Asylum in Texas

Texas Tribune by Julian Aguilar

Mexican journalist, Alejandro Hernandez Pacheco, who escaped a drug cartel kidnapping last year has been granted asylum in the U.S.

Hernandez's immigration attorney Carlos Spector says the decision may signal a shift in the federal government's thinking on how to handle such cases.

“It’s a welcome decision and it has made the U.S. government more aware,” he said. “It’s one thing to read the reports and the statistics provided by [advocacy groups] Reporters without Borders and Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. But I think what Alejandro’s case shows is that these aren’t just cartel members killing and repressing the press. I think what is symbolic about his case is that the Mexican government is around the corner or involved directly [in the oppression].”