Framing Of Immigration Analysis

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The Framing of Immigration Language is considered to be a mysterious apparatus of communication in our everyday life, where well chosen words posses the power to inform, educate, and influence others. Specifically framing, which presents facts surrounding an issue that requires a solution, is one of the main instruments used in politics to persuade the masses. “The Framing of Immigration,” an article published by George Lakoff and Sam Ferguson tackles such misuse of framing by specifically criticizing former president Bush’s speech on immigration. The article mainly claims that immigration will continue as an issue because of the weaknesses of current frames caused by the prevalent use of negative language and scapegoating of immigrants. Language, …show more content…
The authors criticize such stagnated themes in the existing frames and argue that immigrants do not come to a foreign country just to exploit its resources but to escape the domestic problems of their home country. The article specifically reinforces this theory through the use of conceptual “fantasy” frames such as the framing of globalization. The use of globalization in the context of immigration evokes confusion in the beginning because globalization personifies interaction and integration among individuals, companies and nations. Such primarily positive ideologies get overshadowed through the economic, profit seeking aspect of globalization. Specifically, companies, who seek maximum profits, need immigrants as low-paid workers in order to reduce the costs and increase their sales. To validate the existence of this vicious cycle, Ferguson and Lakoff specifically use the economic changes during the Bush regime as evidence because they showcase a steep growth in corporate profits without any change in the wage rate. The authors used such specific conceptual frame because it injects guilt into individuals, who partake in this constant demand for lower prices of goods and services. By changing the perspective, Lakoff and Ferguson shift the weight of the immigration issue from the immigrants to the ordinary people, which creates an emotional connection with the readers. The authors however, maximize such emotional pressure on their readers by further implementing the idea of the “American Dream.” The use of this ideology criticizes specifically the “dehumanizing” terms “alien” and “temporary worker” because they contradict the symbolized ideals of the “American Dream.” The authors warrant their argument by suggesting that immigrants