Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Communication

Major Professor

Travis Bell, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Mildred Perreault, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Christopher Noland, Ph.D.

Keywords

framing, immigration, media bias, political polarization

Abstract

This study examines how partisan media outlets strategically frame U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), revealing how the same events are portrayed as fundamentally different depending on the outlet’s ideological position. Using Entman’s framing theory and qualitative frame analysis, this research analyzed 150 digital news articles from conservative-leaning (e.g., Fox News & New York Post), liberal-leaning (e.g., CNN & Associated Press) and neutral (e.g., The Hill & Newsweek) outlets over a six-month period following President Trump’s executive order expanding ICE’s operational scope.

The analysis reveals sharp partisan divides and highlights the prominence of media bias. Conservative outlets emphasized security frames in 72% of articles, portraying ICE as protecting communities from national security threats, with 36% blaming Democratic policies for immigration related problems. Liberal outlets used humanitarian frames in 82% of articles, emphasizing family separation and civil rights violations, with 48% blaming Republican leadership. Neutral outlets focused more on procedural concerns like transparency failures or administrative oversight issues rather than moral or security arguments.

These findings show that partisan media create competing narratives about ICE that are largely incompatible with each other. The same events receive different meanings, blame attributions, and different proposed solutions depending on the ideological leaning of each outlet. This study contributes to strategic communication scholarship by demonstrating how partisan framing creates barriers to democratic dialogue and public participation. The research also has important implications for understanding political polarization, media bias, and the challenges communicators may face when trying to reach audiences across partisan divides.

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