Paper blasted for naming 'illegal immigrant' as Texan of Year

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — When editorial writers at The Dallas Morning News chose "the illegal immigrant" as the newspaper's Texan of the Year, they expected some criticism. But not this: 800 blog postings and more than 150 letters to the editor blasting the decision.

Some of the critics threatened to cancel subscriptions or pressure advertisers to stop doing business with the paper.

"What an asinine article!!!" one reader exclaimed.

"What part of stupid are you guys that support illegal aliens? This puts us ALL in danger," another wrote.

Editorial writer Rodger Jones said he was "surprised at the nastiness" of the backlash, some of which came from readers who had seen only the editorial's headline.

The Texan of the Year designation, announced in Sunday's paper, has been an annual year-end editorial page feature since 2003.

It recognizes — without passing judgment — someone who has had a major impact or has effected change in Texas during the past year.