SOC/315
University of Phoenix
MEDIA REACTION PAPER 2
The Immigration Reform is something that has been discussed for years due to the affects
it has on the nation. There are many opinions on whether the decisions made about the
Immigration Reform are right or wrong. This issue is a hot topic in the media due to the effects it
can and will have on illegal immigrants, employers and friends impacted by the reform.
The current president, Donald Trump has been investigating and trying to implement the
plan ever since 1999. Trumps interest started well before then, but in the year of 1999 he was
preparing himself to run to be a possible presidential candidate of the Reform Party. A lot of
Trumps concerns to the Immigration Reform come from a rise in crimes committed by illegal
immigrants, health risks, a rise in tax payor dollars and welfare benefits being abused. “Illegal
immigration is fundamentally an issue of law violation. Our sovereign right to regulate who is
legally admitted to the country is being massively undermined by illegal entry and refusal to
leave at the end of an authorized stay. We estimate the illegal population of the country to be
between 11 and 13 million persons, and it has been rising recently each year by about a half
million persons. Other reputable researchers have estimated a much higher illegal population”.
(Martin, 2007). "Tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border," Trump said in
a statement released on July 6, 2015. "The United States has become a dumping ground for
Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world"(Jacobson, 2015).
The political side of this issue can be quite complex depending on the opinions of either
side. There are a lot of people who agree with Trump and his decisions regarding the
Immigration Reform and then there are a lot of people who do not agree with the stance Trump is
taking in this matter. “Trump stormed into the White House with a vow to crack down on
generous immigration policy. Not only will Trump struggle to persuade Democrats to come to
the table, it’s not even clear they’re in the same room” (Hesson & Kim, 2017).
The message that the media seems to portray is educational to the viewers. It informs the
audience of the plans of Trump as well as the positive and negative affect that it can have on the
people affected by it. I think that the media coverage was unbiased because it should the positive
and negative of both sides. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion and the statements
of some may differ from others because the opinion will be different from person to person. I
also think that the media coverage was portrayed objectively with the different facts that were
given on the issues. It stated what was needed to understand the issues at hand as well as provide
the facts to back it up. I think that in some ways it also was sensationalizing the information as
well to grab the audience’s attentions. I think that a lot of media specialists do this to “spread the
information quicker” and to make the issue bigger than what it already is and can be.
The media coverage might affect the public’s perception of this issue if they are unclear
of what is going on in the Immigration reform and why it is occurring. Many of the people who
are views of the media are not usually educated on what is being presented to them causing them
to be persuaded easily. I think in this case if the viewers do not know the background of the
Immigration Reform and how it is affecting the citizens of America, then they will not really
understand and will go with what is being presented. I think that the information presented by the
media is discouraging the actions of prejudice but at the same time it is encouraging the actions
of discrimination and stereotyping. For example, a lot of the anti-illegal immigrants are against
the immigrants that come from Iraq, Afghanistan or anything close to that are due to the past
history of other people who committed crimes and brought harm to the citizens of the United
States. This can be viewed as stereotype and discrimination because the people are being
MEDIA REACTION PAPER 4
classified as “violent” and “war criminals” due to the actions of others. I think that not all the
people are the same and some of them do not have evil intentions like the rest of them may have.
Another example would be stereotyping Mexicans by saying that they all are in a “Mexican
Cartel gang”, a lot of them are just hard workers making a decent living who know nothing about
This issue might affect the labor force and the US economy in many ways if a lot of the
immigrants are deported. Many of the jobs in the US which people do not want to work are taken
on by these workers. The reform can also cause a trade war between different countries like
Mexico and China. “Wharton international management professor Mauro Guillen says
protectionism is a “terrible idea.” Trade barriers have been enacted in the recent past, such as
President Nixon levying a 10% tariff across the board in the early 1970s. “Every time you’re
introducing protectionism, you’re hurting the consumer” ("How Will Trump’s Policies Affect
the U.S. Economy? - Knowledge@Wharton", 2017). There would be a decrease in labor for
some jobs for a while if they are not replaced by the America workers if there is a massive
There would be a lot of time and money placed into this process which may leave
negative effects on the economy. Research shows that, “Expelling immigrants, on the other hand,
would be more expensive, costing $2.6 trillion to the GDP over a period of 10 years, excluding
the cost of deportation, the report states. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it
costs the government an estimated $8,318 to deport each person” (Ordonez, 2013).
If I were a manager and the employees of the organization that I was employed by was
affected by the information presented in this media I would encourage the employees and still
treat them the same. I would allow the employees to discuss the issue based on the facts and
MEDIA REACTION PAPER 5
inform them of what I know to make them more comfortable about the issue. I would help the
employees see the importance of the issue by elimination all prejudice, discrimination and
stereotypical tendencies. I would also still include the employee in all work functions until
In conclusion, the media can portray issues in a bias or unbiased way. It is up to the view
to know or research the facts to determine their stance in a situation. Trumps view on the
Immigration Reform has some good points but in my opinion the way that he is going about it is
wrong. Freedom is due to anyone especially if they earned it the right way and it should not be
taken away from them. The issues that may rise from the Immigration Reform may be deadly if
References
Hesson, T. & Kim, S. (2017). Democrats dismiss Trump's immigration reform talk. POLITICO.
immigration-democrats-235588
How Will Trump’s Policies Affect the U.S. Economy? - Knowledge@Wharton. (2017).
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/trumps-policies-economy-wharton-experts-
weigh/
Jacobson, L. (2015). Are illegal immigrants bringing ‘tremendous’ disease across the border, as
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/jul/23/are-illegal-immigrants-
bringing-tremendous-diseas/
Martin, J. (2007). Illegal Immigration and its affects on society and the economy. Fairus.org.
its-affects-on-society-and-the-economy
Ordonez, S. (2013). Immigration Reform: Good or Bad for the Economy?. CNBC. Retrieved 14