Immigration reverberates as one of the main topics at the NAHJ conference

Last week, Latino journalists from across the nation gathered in Chicago at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) annual conference, where the topic of immigration was front and center in several panels.

The important and controversial issue confirmed that the current situation is not only affecting the immigrants, their families, and communities but also the very same journalists that cover these events and even large gatherings, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup 26. 

In the panel, “Understanding the Impact of the Immigration Crackdown on Children,” speakers shared information and experiences on how the Trump administration has affected the public school sector. 

Angelica Reyes, a high school teacher in Los Angeles, said when the raids went full force at the beginning of June, even her U.S. citizen students were afraid. She provided as many resources as possible, but can’t deny the reality that the young students are facing. 

“A former student and her mom are now in Honduras [after being deported]. She was about to become a senior with honors. So this facade that is happening only to criminals, that’s long gone,” said Reyes. “And the purpose is fear and terrorization.”

Jo Napolitano, senior reporter with The 74, a non-profit, nonpartisan news organization covering education, said that the Trump administration is creating a huge misrepresentation of highly motivated people when they just identify them as laborers working in hotels or restaurants. She said, the reality is that out of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, about 1.7 million have at least a bachelor’s degree.

Napolitano said she has been writing about immigration for a long time and has confirmed that one of the leading factors of an immigrant coming to the United States for a better life includes schooling. 

“They are actually coming so their children can go to school because some of these folks are born in communities, countries, cities where it is too dangerous for a child to walk to school,” she said. “We neglect to know the incredible brain power of this group, the mighty contribution they make.”

The success of migration

An example of the brilliant work immigrants can achieve was presented during the ABC News Storytellers Summit, where ABC President Almin Karamehmedovic shared his personal and motivational testimony.

Karamehmedovic said he fled Sarajevo, Bosnia after the war ended in 1995 and moved to London to go to college. He needed a job and asked his brother, who at the time was working as a driver and translator for ABC London. 

“I called my brother and I said, ‘if there’s anything I can do’ because I had no money,” he told journalist John Quiñones during his presentation. 

Karamehmedovic said he started working overnight, logging tapes. He then became an editor, producer and spent many years covering war zones. 

In 2024, he was named as  president of ABC News in charge of overseeing popular shows like “Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight with David Muir,” and “20/20” among many others. 

He said in this environment, when everybody feels like a journalist because they have a camera and access to social media, it is the job of the journalist to report the facts. 

“As a journalist, the only currency you have are the facts,” he told journalists at the panel. “There’s a lot of ‘fake’ on social media and we have to be aware of that.”

Quiñones, a fifth-generation Mexican American also started from the bottom, working in the fields until he became a prominent journalist for ABC.  

He said culture plays a very important role in the life of Latinos and while many times family members don’t understand the job of a journalist, they are always supportive. 

He recalled when he became an on-air TV reporter and his mother would bless the television every time he came out so he would do a good job. 

The FIFA World Cup 2026 may be affected

While the “Pa’l Mundial by Telemundo: Inside the Road to FIFA World Cup 26” was an exciting panel as the U.S. will be one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup, it turned serious when journalists asked about the attention they are paying to the immigrant community. 

Legendary sportscaster Andrés Cantor said that at Telemundo they are very aware of what’s going on with immigration and are covering it in the news in real time. 

He said they are excitedly doing the countdown to the World Cup without disregarding reality. The FIFA partners are making sure that the broadcast will be the most comprehensive, balanced and safe for employees and fans, explained the sportscaster.

“We will be on top of every new situation if it arises,” Cantor said. “And if it merits, we will bring some references, like we did with Qatar or Russia in certain situations. We referenced it once, so the audience knew that Telemundo was not left out for what's happening, and we covered it in the most professional way.”

Cantor commended the work done by Telemundo news host Julio Vaqueiro, who was also present at the panel and said that they will always cover the most relevant topics for the Latino community.

The FIFA World Cup 26 will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and USA, where 48 teams will play in 16 cities. Eleven of those cities will be in the U.S., including Los Angeles. The final is scheduled to be played on July 19, 2026, in New York-New Jersey.

The NAHJ convention was held from July 8 to 12 in Chicago and is scheduled to take place in New Orleans, LA in 2026.