The Effects of Family and Community in U.S. Immigration News

• In Event: The Effects of Framing, Media, and Rhetoric on Immigration Attitudes

Abstract

Events about community and family separation at the U.S.-Mexico border have been a regular feature of immigration news in the last several years. How do cues of community integration and family impact support for an undocumented immigrant? This study presents results from a web-based survey experiment fielded in 2022 in which White respondents read a news story about an undocumented adult that migrated to the U.S. with two characteristics manipulated: (1) being an integrated member of the community or not and (2) arriving with a child or not. Results suggest that community integration leads to higher levels of support, while arriving with a child does not seem to impact support on the same level. Additionally, this study finds that support for the accompanying child is significantly higher than for the adult. These findings are discussed as they relate to immigration news representation, community integration, assimilation, and family migration.

Author

• Guadalupe Madrigal