Graduation Term

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Communication

Committee Chair

Dr. Lindsey Thomas

Committee Co-Chair

Fernando Severino

Committee Member

John Baldwin

Committee Member

Andrew Ventimiglia

Abstract

I investigated how English- and Spanish-language news outlets narratively constructed Latinx immigrants during the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, a period marked by heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric and political volatility. While past scholarships examined immigration framing through tone, sentiment, or frequency analysis, limited attention has been given to the deeper narrative structures that shape public meaning-making. This study addresses this gap by applying Dialogic Narrative Analysis (DNA) and Critical Thematic Analysis (CTA) to a bilingual dataset of 120 newspaper articles from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, El Diario, and La Opinión published between November 2024 and February 2025.

Findings reveal stark divergences between linguistic media ecosystems. English-language outlets overwhelmingly employed chaos narratives that framed immigration as unstable, crisis-driven, or institutionally unpredictable. Spanish-language outlets, while centering community voice and emotional impact, also produced chaos narratives at notable rates, reflecting the lived fears and material vulnerabilities experienced by immigrant communities during the campaign. Quest narratives, stories of preparation, resilience, and communal care, were far more common in Spanish-language coverage, whereas restitution narratives were scarce across both languages. These patterns illustrate how narrative structures position immigrants as subjects of fear, resilience, or uncertainty depending on linguistic and cultural context.

The study contributes to a narrative-level framework for comparing bilingual media and emphasizes language as a cultural and ideological force in shaping public understandings of immigration. Findings highlight the political and ethical stakes of storytelling, showing how bilingual media craft competing cultural worlds that influence perceptions of belonging, threat, and national identity. I conclude by calling for expanded narrative research across additional platforms, longitudinal political contexts, and intersectional immigrant identities.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

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