Poster #135 - Constructions of Illegality on Social Media and Internal Immigration Control

• In Event: Poster Session II (posters 80 – 155)

Abstract

Online environments are characterized by polarization and selective exposure, yet social media increasingly shapes how political information is evaluated, circulated, and legitimized. Recent discourse around immigration makes these dynamics especially visible, as powerful political actors frequently frame immigrants as criminals, economic threats, or cultural outsiders. However, little is known about how threat-based narratives shift during politically salient events, particularly in highly polarized social media environments. This research uses content analysis to investigate how narratives portraying immigrants shifted surrounding the January 20, 2025 executive orders on immigration policy. Relevant posts were collected from X (formerly Twitter) during a 14-day window surrounding the policy announcements and coded for threat-related themes, group references, and engagement metrics to identify broader trends in online discourse. These trends will be descriptively compared with publicly available U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and deportation data to contextualize whether heightened threat framing coincides alongside reported enforcement activity. This study is expected to identify measurable increases in threat-based framing following the executive orders and determine which immigrant groups are most frequently targeted in these narratives. Findings may contribute to research on immigration attitudes, political communication, platform governance, and enforcement legitimacy.

Author

• Kiara Van Rossum, Portland State University