The View of the Border: News Framing of the Definition, Causes, and Solutions to Illegal Immigration

Abstract

Analyzing newspaper articles and television news transcripts (N = 484), this study explores how American news media have framed the issue of illegal immigration. More specifically, we analyze the way the media present the questions of why illegal immigration is a problem, what the causes are, and how to fix the problem. We also make a comparison across different media outlets (border-state newspapers vs. papers elsewhere; newspapers vs. television news), looking at whether news coverage of the issue has been consistent across the media.