Contemporary political issues relevant to Texas include immigration and policies. For a long time, Texas has experienced immigration issues, mainly because of its proximity to Mexico. The problem of immigration in Texas has not only become a political one used by a politician to further their agenda and win elections, but it has also become a socially controversial topic. For example, former President Donald Trump’s administration was looking to build a historical wall on the southern border of Texas. According to an article by Correa & Thomas (2024), the declaration to build this wall launched a campaign that brought together a diverse group of organizations and interests, forming a narrative structure and collective web.
Traditional media such as newspapers, radio stations, and local televisions in Texas have reported about the issue of immigration in the state as new information develops. These traditional media outlets include the Texas Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, The Texas Public Radio, and Houston Chronicles. These media houses report the news as it happens with the primary aim of reporting, educating, and stirring public opinions. All these media houses have one thing in common: they keep an up-to-date string of articles and breaking news on immigration issues in Texas.
The framing of information from various traditional media is interesting because, while they report the news as they develop, they also make it as so it is a discussion and not just fact stating. Another major issue covered by these traditional media houses is how immigration policies and immigration issues are affecting taxpayers and funding to support aid for migrants, who increase in number every year. For instance, an article written in The Texas Tribune by Drusch & Report (2024) focuses on a warning by United States representative Henry Cuellar on using national aid to facilitate migrants’ travel.
While traditional media houses use simple language to ensure that they broaden their audience bases, most of the reporting has a political tone. The immigration issue is frequently presented as a problem costing the state and the national government taxpayers money that should be allocated to other issues. An article published by Aguilar (2023) in the Texas Public Radion newsroom reports the ramifications of the Texas state legislature’s controversial immigration bill that will make any unauthorized entry to the state a criminal office. In addition, it reports that $1.5 billion is planned to be spent on the border wall on the southern side of the state.
In addition, the tone used by these traditional media is generally neutral, although most emphasize the negative impact immigration has on the state. The information remains the same regarding facts and reporting style over time. The newsrooms adopt a report style that avoids bias or leaning toward any political viewpoint. Social media has become one of the most publicized forms of communication technology. According to Lane et al. (2024), American media and newsrooms have covered social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others in analyzing political news, such as the issue of immigration in Texas. Therefore, Americans have taken various social media platforms to voice their opinions.
References
Lane, D. S., Overbye-Thompson, H., & Gagrčin, E. (2024). The story of social media: evolving news coverage of social media in American politics, 2006–2021. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 29(1), zmad039.https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmad039
Drusch, A., & Report, S. A. (2024, April 12). U.S. rep. Henry Cuellar warns that using federal aid to help migrants travel makes San Antonio a “magnet.” The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/texas-san-antonio-migrants-travel-magnet-henry-cuellar/
Aguilar, J., (2023, November 10) Texas Senate passes state immigration enforcement bill and $1.5 billion more for border barriers. TPR. https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2023-11-10/texas-senate-passes-state-immigration-enforcement-bill-and-1-5-billion-more-for-border-barriers
Correa, J. G., & Thomas, J. M. (2024). “It’s my home, not a war zone”: Mobilizing a multitude to demilitarize the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Sociology Compass, 18(1), e13093.https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13093
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