The Daily Discourse

Situation categorized as a “humanitarian crisis” by

President Obama.

By Brenda Ramirez

By the end of the 2013 fiscal year, U.S. mass media began voicing its concern over a dramatic influx of undocumented, “unaccompanied minors” crossing the U.S.-Mexican border. Thousands of kids were making the journey primarily from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

This comparative analysis focused on the construction of the unaccompanied minors condition as a social problem through public discourse. Both Spanish and English language newspapers were the sources of data collection. Not only do newspapers reinforce and legitimize the general public’s claims; they also have a central role in shaping the image they wish to convey of the subject matter.

A constructionist approach is concerned with the claims-making process. This requires a close analysis of the talk and text, and rhetorical/argumentative organization of the data. Categories for rhetorical devices:

Terminology (referencing the minors/problem)

Causal accounts Atrocity tales Claims-makers

VOL. CLVII. . No. 54,205. Wednesday, March 23, 2016. $2.00

Both El Diario and Hoy also referred to the impact that the influx was having on the immigration courts. However, the claims presented here focused on the effect this had on the minors. Many of the claims emphasized that the backlogged courts were being unjust in issuing deportation orders. This was due to the fact that the children were not being afforded any legal representation and that by expediting hearings, the minors did not have the opportunity to make their case to obtain refugee status.

As for housing facilities, the predominant terminology used was detention centers/facilities. This term does not have the same connotation as shelter. It gives the sense of being held against one’s own will. There were detailed descriptions of the centers being overcrowded and unable to provide proper care for the kids. Articles also elaborated on the psychological consequences resulting from being “locked up” in these facilities.

This study helps further understand how social problems become legitimized through public discourse. More broadly, it shows the power of definitions and language as rhetorical arguments and their role in the construction of problems.

• Terminology:Humanitarian crisis, Immigration crisis,

Unaccompanied minors, Shelters

• Causal Accounts:Fleeing conditions of poverty and violence

“Lax immigration policies”

• Atrocity Tales:Present but few

• Claims-makers:Government officials, Immigration

attorneys/experts

• Terminology: Humanitarian crisis, Unaccompanied minors,

Refugees, Detention centers

• Causal Accounts:“Escaping the violence, homicidal gangs,

and poverty”

• Atrocity Tales:Prominent and repeated in multiple articles

• Claims-makers: Government officials, Attorneys, Law

professors

DiscussionThe construction of this “crisis” and the

methods used to legitimize it as a problem was comparable in all four of the papers. The two ways in which they did this was through similar use of claims-makers and the use of agencies responding to the problem. Although the problem was legitimized through similar means, the effects of the crisis varied in how they were conveyed.

In the NYT and LAT the concern was directed towards the U.S. legal system and the strain this caused on the country’s resources. The education system, federal funds, and border personnel were some of the few mentioned.

Two resources that were of primary focus where the immigration courts and housing arrangements. Reoccurring claims were presented about the congestion of the courts and lack of immigration judges. Emphasis was placed on the necessity of having to open new shelters to accommodate for the large quantities of minors. Shelters were depicted in terms of accommodating the children, quite different from the Spanish language newspapers’ depictions.

Borderline CrisisA Constructionist Approach to the Unaccompanied Minors at the U.S. Border

Findings