Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

International Relations

Reader 1

Jean-Pierre Murray

Abstract

This thesis examines how major American media outlets frame the economic impact of immigration and whether those portrayals reflect the broader academic literature on immigration economics. The study was motivated by the gap between highly polarized public discourse and the research that generally finds immigration’s economic effects to be mixed, conditional, and often modest (rather than uniformly harmful or beneficial.) Using a qualitative content analysis, this thesis analyzes articles from FOX News, MSNBC (also known as MS NOW) and Reuters published between 2016 and 2026. Headlines, subheadlines, opening sentences, and broader article content were coded across five dimensions: tone, economic framing, polarization intensity, use of crisis language, and emotive language. The findings reveal strong differences in ideological direction, but notable similarities in framing style and reliance on crisis framing. FOX News consistently frames immigration as an economic threat tied to job loss, wage suppression, and public strain. MSNBC frames immigration as economically necessary for growth and labor force stability. Reuters presented a more moderate view similar to the literature, often finding that immigration has mixed or conditional effects. Despite reaching opposite conclusions, both FOX News and MSNBC frequently rely on crisis framing, with Reuters only relying on crisis framing in a slight number of cases. These findings suggest that media polarization surrounding immigration is shaped not only by ideology, but also by the narrative techniques used to communicate and frame these claims.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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