Positive Immigration Frames that Brighten Boundaries: Resolving Contradictions of Capitalism

• In Event: 198 - Regular Session. Immigration Politics

Abstract

Immigration has become increasingly polarized over the past several years, much of which stems from the symbolic boundaries that exist between immigrant and nonimmigrant groups. These boundaries contribute to the vulnerability and, therefore, exploitability of migrant workers. The sociopolitical environment surrounding immigrants – one that suggests that are a threat to American system – helps to legitimate the exploitation migrant workers face, but it also presents a contradiction. That is, capitalist employers need workers they can exploit, but part of migrants’ vulnerability stems from their images as threatening outsiders; in order for capitalism to function, this dangerous population must live side-by-side nonimmigrant groups. This paper works to illuminate how these contradictions are, at least in part, resolved by positive frames surrounding immigrants in newspaper articles. Positive frames are those that reference immigrants in a favorable light, point to the contributions immigrants make to society, and/or argue for their inclusion. I suggest that through two dominant positive frames – one that emphasizes the need for migrant workers to perform labor Americans are unwilling to and another that praises deserving immigrants for achieving upward social mobility – this contradiction is resolved, but in such a way that boundaries between nonimmigrant and immigrant groups remain intact.

Author

• Emily P. Estrada, North Carolina State University