How One Word Can Change Everything: Media Language & Immigration

 

How One Word Can Change Everything: Media Language & Immigration

What if one single word could change how millions of people see immigrants?

Media language isn’t just about vocabulary , it shapes emotions, beliefs, and even political opinions. When the news calls someone an “illegal immigrant” instead of an“undocumented immigrant,” the message completely changes. The word illegal sounds criminal and dangerous. Undocumented sounds like a paperwork issue. Same person. Totally different reaction.

And right now, with the economy feeling unstable and stress levels already high, immigration has become an even more sensitive topic. The words people hear every day from the media can easily push them toward fear, sympathy, anger, or support  often without them realizing it.

According to the ACLU (2024), the media often frames immigration in negative and oversimplified ways. Instead of showing the full reality, stories are reduced to dramatic border scenes and emotional language.

Most immigration coverage focuses on:

  • Crowded borders

  • Barbed wire

  • Chaos and conflict

Even when the story has nothing to do with the border, those same images are used. This trains our brains to connect immigration with danger and disorder. Political ads make this even worse. Words like “illegals,” “aliens,” and even “rapists” or “murderers” are used to trigger fear. These labels don’t inform people , they scare them.

“Illegal” vs. “Undocumented” — Why It Matters

Research by DeFrancesco (2025) found that when the term “illegal immigrant” is used:

  • People are more likely to support harsh enforcement

  • Negative assumptions increase

  • Empathy decreases

But when the term “undocumented immigrant” is used:

  • People feel more empathy

  • They focus more on policy solutions

  • They are less supportive of punishment-based ideas

This proves how powerful just one word can be.

Fear clearly sells in the media, and the ACLU (2024) found strong evidence of this. About 20% of political ads use words like “illegals” or “aliens,” while some go even further by using terms like “invasion.” More than one-third of these ads also show military scenes or Border Patrol imagery, creating a false picture of immigration as a violent battle. Even when the news covers programs meant to help families, chaotic border footage is still shown. Before viewers ever hear the real facts, fear has already been planted in their minds.

At the same time, the media leaves out some of the most important stories. We rarely see coverage of immigrants supporting the economy, working in healthcare, education, or essential service jobs, or research showing that immigration helped prevent economic collapse. Instead, the focus stays locked on border drama. This one-sided storytelling makes immigration look only chaotic and negative, rather than human and complex.



The media constantly uses the phrase “border crisis,” which makes it sound like everything is out of control, even though migration naturally rises and falls every year. The drama is often stronger than the data. Political leaders also add to this fear. Trump has used phrases like “poisoning the blood of our country,” “animals,” and “Biden migrant crime.”When powerful voices use language like this, it sticks. It shapes how people think about immigrants long before they ever hear real facts or see real data.

This topic isn’t just something I researched , it’s something I’ve lived. I grew up in an immigrant family, and I’ve seen firsthand how the words people use can make someone feel welcomed or unwanted. I’ve watched my parents work hard, follow the rules, and build a life here, yet still be judged by labels that don’t reflect who they are. When the media uses harsh language, it doesn’t just stay on a screen , it reaches into classrooms, workplaces, stores, and neighborhoods. It changes how people look at families like mine and can make someone feel like they don’t fully belong, even when this is the only home they know. Behind every headline is a real person, a mom trying to protect her kids, a dad working long hours, a student chasing a future. Those stories rarely make the news, but they are the truth for so many families.

Why This Actually Matters

Media language matters because public opinion shapes public policy, and those policies affect real people. Families. Kids. Workers. Friends. Neighbors. Words can make immigrants seem dangerous or valuable. They can create fear or invite understanding. When negative terms are repeated over and over, they start to feel normal, even when they are unfair and harmful.

Understanding how media language works helps us recognize bias, question what we hear, and think more fairly. It reminds us to see immigrants as human beings, not just headlines. Because at the end of the day, words don’t just describe reality, they create it. 


Sources :


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