Framing of the Immigration Reform in 2006

Abstract

This content analysis examined how the U.S. newspaper editorials framed the immigration reform in 2006 and what community characteristics—structural pluralism, Hispanic ethnic identity, partisanship, and religion—might have affected their frames. The results showed that editorials in communities that were more structurally or ethnically pluralistic and less politically or religiously conservative were more likely to support granting citizenship to illegal immigrants. The more structurally or ethnically pluralistic the community, the more likely its editorials perceived illegal immigrants as “beneficial” to the country. The more religiously or politically conservative the community, the more likely its editorials perceived illegal immigrants as “harmful.”