Greg, that piece in The Politico by Gebe Martinez is trumped-up advocacy for the “immigrant rights” lobby, suggesting that somehow CBS is as impassioned against illegal immigration as Lou Dobbs is. (She has been a fairly regular liberal panelist on PBS’s Washington Week.) In the April 7 piece cited, reporter Byron Pitts does not “lecture” the illegal immigrant about her cross-and-give-birth-free gambit. After several soft questions, he explains in a soft tone that not everyone agrees with her strategy. From the transcript:

BYRON PITTS: So your son is an American citizen. What does that mean to you? FABIOLA: (Through translator) I’m glad he was born here. That’s why I came here, so my children, my husband and I could have a better life. PITTS: Back in December, when she was six months pregnant, Fabiola, her husband and their two daughters, ages four and 11, crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into the US. Once across, they walked for two hours in search of a better life and free medical care for their unborn child. Help me understand. Do many women in Mexico make the choice to have their children in the United States? FABIOLA: (Through translator) Yes. I know people who have done that. Things are better in the US because they help children so much more… PITTS: Many Americans, who struggle to take care of their own families, think it is unfair that they should take care of a family and they’re not US citizens. FABIOLA: (Through translator) I don’t really understand the resentment, but I know that God will find a way to help them, too. PITTS: That’s what Fabiola’s doing for young Elliot, relying on her faith, her family and the U.S. government. Byron Pitts, CBS News, McAllen, Texas.

I would grant that CBS did not map out these four “Immigration Nation” stories precisely along La Raza publicity lines. But the stories are calm, balanced, and even skeptical as to whether immigration enforcement is plausible. They do not match the promotional tone of 2006, which is why the left-wing lobbyists are demanding meetings to demand that CBS toe their line.