Immigrant Labeling and Crime Proximity: How Crime Coverage Shapes Attitudes Toward Immigrants

• In Event: Media and Narratives on Punitiveness and Marginalization

Abstract

Media coverage of crime influences attitudes toward immigrants, yet the roles of exposure, immigrant labeling, and crime proximity remain underexplored. This study tests three hypotheses among U.S. residents: (1) exposure to crime reports increases negative attitudes toward immigrants, even if the crime is not committed by immigrants, (2) immigrant crime coverage heightens negative attitudes more than unspecified crime coverage, which exceeds those from non-immigrant crime coverage, and (3) among crime coverage, incidents in one’s home state have a stronger effect than those in another state, which in turn exceed those abroad. Participants are randomly assigned to ten groups: one control group receives no crime exposure (neutral news), while nine experimental groups form a 3×3 design based on the origin of the criminal (immigrant, American citizen, unspecified) and the location of the crime (home state, another U.S. state, abroad), presented as newspaper articles. Post-exposure surveys measure threat perception, trust, and policy preferences. The study predicts a gradient in negative attitudes toward immigrants: strongest for crimes by immigrants in one’s home state, weakest for crimes committed abroad by American citizens. Findings reveal how criminal origin and proximity interact to shape media-driven attitudes toward immigrants.

Author

• Lili Rao, SUNY Albany