Article

Journal of Communication Inquiry

0(0) 1–23
Media Representations ! The Author(s) 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
of Immigration in the sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0196859918799099
Chilean Press: To a journals.sagepub.com/home/jci

Different Narrative
of Immigration?

Emilia M. Valenzuela-Vergara1

Abstract
This article examines representations of immigration in Chilean newspapers.
From January to December 2016, a total of 507 articles from three mainstream
newspapers were analyzed. The findings show a dual discourse on immigration in
the Chileans press: a criminalization of immigrants, which frame them as delinquents,
deviant, and dangerous people, and a positive and more humanizing discourse, which
portrays them as people who deserve to be protected by the Chilean society.
The study also finds a shift in the way media sources are representing immigration
compared to previous reports, characterized by presenting alternative images of
migrants, a more cautious use of language, and increased attention to the voices
of governmental and religious leaders. Nevertheless, this shift has also intensified the
“difference” and “otherness” of foreigners in Chile by repeatedly focusing on their
nationality and differentiating between the “good” and “bad” immigrants.

Keywords
immigration, print media, news, framing, news coverage, Chile

1
University of California Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Emilia M. Valenzuela-Vergara, University of California Santa Cruz, 504 Koshland Way, Santa Cruz, CA
95064, USA.
Email: [email protected]
2 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

Introduction
Even though the immigration rate in Chile is not significant as compared to
other nations, the number of immigrants is growing rapidly each year, and the
immigrant profile is changing considerably. Between 2010 and 2015, Chile reg-
istered the largest increases in immigration in Latin America, reaching 4.9% per
year (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean & Latin
America of the International Labour Organization, 2017). In 2014, there were
410,988 immigrants, representing 2.3% of the total population (Ministerio del
Interior y Seguridad P
ublica, Secci

on Estudios Departamento de Extranjer
ıa y
Migraci
on, 2016). This number increased drastically to almost one million in
2017, which represents 5.5% of the total population. Most of the immigrants
came from Latin American countries, most commonly Peru, Colombia,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Haiti, and Argentina (Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad
P
ublica, 2017).
Scholarly literature confirms that immigrants who arrive at the country, pri-
marily from Latin American countries, are segregated and discriminated
against. The multidimensional index—including indicators of labor, education,
health, and housing—shows a higher incidence of poverty among immigrants
than among Chileans (Rojas Pedemonte & Silva, 2016). Their access to subsi-
dized housing has historically been limited, and currently, they are living in
segregated neighborhoods with high levels of overcrowding (14.9% immigrants
vs. 7.9% Chileans). In addition, immigrants tend to engage in informal and
precarious labor including domestic and service work, agricultural and construc-
tion work, and also selling cheap electronics, clothes, and food (Pávez & Chan,
2018; Stefoni, Leiva, & Bonhomme, 2017). The situation of immigrant students
is also critical. In Chile, scholars find that immigrant students (a) are concen-
trated in schools with high rates of poverty (Mardones, 2006); (b) experience
high levels of discrimination and racism in schools (de la Torre D
ıaz, 2011;
Hein, 2012; Pávez, 2012; Riedemann & Stefoni, 2015; Tijoux, 2013); and (c)
experience lower expectations and support from their teachers
(Hernández, 2016).
But, despite poverty rates and housing conditions, immigrants have, on aver-
age, higher educational levels compared to Chileans (12.6 and 10.7 years, respec-
tively; Rojas Pedemonte & Silva, 2016) and lower rate of criminality. During
2015, a total of 5,415 immigrants went through the Chilean judicial system after
being apprehended by law enforcement officers, which is equivalent to 1.1% of
all foreigners in Chile (Mesa Interisntitucional de Acceso a la Justicia de
Migrantes y Extranjeros, 2016). Contrary to the immigration situation of
many European or North American countries, most of the immigrants
coming to Chile share cultural characteristics with Chileans. For example, immi-
grants arriving in Chile generally have a high level of local language skills
(Lafortune & Tessada, 2016), and less than 1 in 10 first-generation immigrant
Valenzuela-Vergara 3

students speaks a language other than Spanish (Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development, 2015).
The significant growth in immigration rates has also led to a national debate
on race, racism, and national identity in Chile. Horacio Gutiérrez (2010) argues
that processes of racialization in Chile are related to the constant search for
national homogeneity, with the idea that a national identity has to be rooted in a
homogeneous race and that diversity and multiculturalism is incompatible with
the existence of a national identity. In the 19th century, racial and ethnic
homogenization was proposed and attempted with various measures such as
encouraging the immigration of international populations deemed to be
“superior” and promoting the mixture of races in order to decrease the presence
of groups considered to be “inferior” over the long run (Gutiérrez, 2010). In
addition, some scholars argue that the discussion of racial difference in Chile has
only been expressed as ethnic difference (Barandiarán, 2012). Indigenous
groups, especially Mapuches, have been the primary target of racist attitudes
and practices since the beginning of colonialism (Espinosa & Cueto, 2014). In
that way, Chile has historically lived under the illusion of cultural homogeneity
since its consolidation as a nation, which has been reproduced by different
institutions such as the mass media and the educational system (Poblete Melis
& Galaz, 2007). However, the increase in immigration rates, mainly from
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti, has heightened the discussion
of race in Chile. A recent survey shows that 41% of Chileans believe that
immigrants raise crime rates; 40% say that immigrants deprive them of work
possibilities; and 57% think that Chile must take more drastic measures to
exclude undocumented immigrants (CEP, 2017). Mass media could have pro-
found effects on shaping the opinions of Chileans. Scholars have found negative
media portrayals of this group commonly associated to violence, crime, delin-
quency, corruption, and smuggling (Browne & Romero, 2010; Do~ na, 2001;
Fernández Ortiz, 2004; Romero Lizama, 2011).
The rise in immigration rates in Chile during the last years and the excep-
tional characteristics of recent immigrants, with their higher levels of education
and a lower incidence of criminality compared to their Chilean counterparts,
have come together to make the subject of immigration in Chile an exceptional
case study. This article investigates the representation of immigration in the
Chilean press: What are the dominant frames in media coverage of immigration?
What is the tone of the media coverage of immigrants in Chile? Who is discus-
sing immigration in Chile? Is print media, for example, portraying their elevated
levels of education and lower rates of crime compared to Chileans?

New Framing
One way of studying immigration is to analyze mass media outlets, as these
present one version of our society, the main changes that it is experiencing as
4 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

well as a reflection of its values and norms. Media discourse plays a crucial role
in depicting immigration to society, but its portrayal is far from being neutral.
Van Dijk (2001) argues that media discourse is shaped by power relations, which
in turn reflect societal dominance. The press’s discourse produces knowledge,
imparts ideas that reflect the interests of a dominant group, presents a specific
version of reality, and provides a framework for what should and should not be
presented. In that way, discourse, and more precisely, language, plays a funda-
mental role in shaping unequal relations of power. However, not all discourses
are equal; some of them have high levels of dominance or legitimacy and others
do not or have lower levels of dominance or legitimacy (Rojo & Van
Dijk, 1997).
Scholars have demonstrated the key role that media play in framing certain
issues of immigration. According to Entman (1993),

To frame is to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more
salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem
definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommenda-
tion for the item described. (p. 52)

Framing involves not only the selection and organization of ideas, words,
images, and themes but also the exclusion of specific issues (de Vreese, Peter,
& Semetko, 2001). Therefore, the way media present the information can have
significant implications for how the people receive, understand, interpret, and
react to a presented issue (De Vreese, 2004; McCombs & Ghanem, 2001;
Scheufele, 1999).
Media can influence the way people think about issues by using a different
tone of voice in the news. De Vreese and Boomgaarden (2003) define “valence
framing” as those frames that present a particular issue in either positive or
negative terms. These frames have important effects on perceptions, judgments,
evaluations, and behavior of the readers. Scholars have shown how news frame
immigration in terms of good and bad, which means to represent immigrants as
a threat and a risk to the country, or immigrants seen as contributors and
opportunity. Stephan, Renfro, Esses, Stephan, and Martin (2005) argue that
negative attitudes toward immigration are a result of the perception of immi-
grants as a threat to the country. When immigrants are seen as a threat to the
economy, to the access of social programs, or to security issues, people develop
negative attitudes toward immigrants. About this point, scholars also rely on the
“otherness” frame or “othering,” which represent immigrants as inferior and
alien to the native population (Lakoff & Ferguson, 2006). Immigrants are seen
as other whose presence challenges the political and cultural order of the coun-
try and, therefore, need to be excluded (Triandafyllidou, 2000).
In the United States, most of the studies suggest that the media shows neg-
ative aspects of immigrants. For example, negative representations of Latino
Valenzuela-Vergara 5

immigrants have been found in the U.S. press. Chavez (2008) finds that Latinos
are usually represented as a threat and a danger to the country, as most of the
news refers to crime, lack of documentation, and illegal border crossings.
Moreover, the media has used recurrent metaphors depicting Latinos as “a
brown tide,” “parasites,” and “animals” (Santa Ana, 2002); “immigrants as
pollutant” (Cisneros, 2008); and “immigrants as invaders” (Chavez, 2008).
These metaphors have shaped the U.S. public opinion about Latinos by mis-
representing them as unwanted immigrants.
Despite most of the studies focus on the threat framing of immigration, some
scholars have found how media represents immigrants from a “humanitarian
victim” frame (Benson, 2013; Van Gorp, 2005). Using a more sympathetic tone,
the humanitarian frame sees immigrants as people who deserve to be protected.
Analyzing the representation of African immigrants in the Finnish press, Horsti
(2008) finds that despite illegality and control, frames are the most recurrent
ones in the press; the immigrants are also framed as victims and as heroes. Van
Gorp (2005) finds news coverage of asylum seeker seen in a victim frame,
portrayed as tragic person, in need of help.

Immigration and the Print Media in Chile

In Chile, different scholars have focused on mass media’s representation of
immigrants, particularly on how they discuss their lives, their cultures, and
their behaviors. Scholars have highlighted how Chilean media representation
of immigrants remains largely negative. Most studies suggest that mass media
usually associates them with violence, crime, delinquency, corruption, illegality,
and smuggling (Browne & Romero, 2010; Do~ na, 2001; Fernández Ortiz, 2004;
Romero Lizama, 2011). Fernández Ortiz (2004) analyzes news items about
Peruvian and Bolivian immigrants in Chile contained in two mainstream news-
papers between the years 2000 and 2003. He concludes that 97% of the news
stories display negative incidents involving these groups and that the most
common terms used to describe Peruvian immigration waves into Chile were
“invasion,” “avalanche,” “explosion,” and “inundation.” Similarly, Do~ na
(2001) finds that the media show immigration as a problem for the country,
and it is associated with criminality, marginality, and poverty. Moreover, immi-
gration is presented as a threat to the national economy, the job market, and
social services (Do~na, 2001). Topics related to their daily life experiences, success
stories, position of the elites, and immigrants’ contribution to Chileans culture,
arts, and business are practically ignored by the press (Fernández Ortiz, 2004).
Furthermore, immigrants’ voices are essentially absent in the media (Romero
Lizama, 2011).
Mass media outlets refer to immigrants differently depending on their coun-
try of origin. In particular, the Chilean print media tend to construct categories
or place labels onto immigrants, linking immigrants’ acts with their country of
6 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

origin (Do~ na, 2001; Fernández Ortiz, 2004). While European immigrants are
associated with economic development and success, people from non-European
countries are linked to illegality and crime. Assumptions such as “All Colombians
and Bolivians are drug dealers,” or “Every Peruvian woman is a domestic work-
er” start to become commonplace (Do~ na, 2001). Moreover, high levels of dis-
crimination and stigmatization have been found in the Chilean press’ discourse.
Fernández Ortiz (2004) finds derogatory terms in El Mercurio and La Tercera,
referring to Bolivians and Peruvian immigrants as “dark skinned,” “domestic,”
“indigenous,” “donkeys,” “criminals,” “violent,” “angry,” “alcoholics,”
“domestic workers,” “needy,” “illiterate,” “minority,” and “drug traffickers.”
Chilean mass media construct a collective stereotype about some groups,
generating apathy, suspicion, distrust, and even rejection of particular groups
(Do~na, 2001). However, the majority of the literature available about immi-
grants and print media in Chile focuses on particular communities, such as
Peruvian, Bolivian, or Colombian immigrants. There are limited studies that
analyze how the press portrays immigration in Chile from a broader viewpoint,
that analyze the differences in discourse depending on the immigrants’ country
of origin, or that connect with previous findings on this issue. This article
examines how immigration in Chile appears in the press. In particular, the
essay focuses on the following questions: What are the dominant frames in
media coverage of immigration? What is the tone of the media coverage of
immigrants in Chile? Who is discussing immigration in Chile? Do they have a
particular discourse? And, are the findings different from those of previ-
ous studies?

Method and Data

The sample consists of a set of daily news stories and reports concerning immi-
gration from three Chileans newspapers: El Mercurio, La Tercera, and La
Estrella de Arica. El Mercurio and La Tercera, located in Santiago, are the
two most important national newspapers in the country. They constitute the
duopoly of El Mercurio S.A.P. and Copesa S.A., concentrating more than 80%
of the press circulation and readership (Monckeberg, 2011). La Estrella de Arica
is a regional daily newspaper published in the city of Arica, Chile’s northern-
most city. Affiliated with El Mercurio S.A.P., this newspaper is the most read in
the region (Vicu~ na & Rojas, 2015), and it was added to the sample to include
local news about immigration in a border region.
I collected all newspaper articles published by El Mercurio, La Tercera, and
La Estrella de Arica between January 1 and December 31, 2016. This period was
chosen because, as a consequence of the significant increase of immigrant rates
in 2016, the topic of immigration in Chile acquired a previously unseen rele-
vance in both the media and in public and political discussions. Moreover,
immigration gained major visibility due to the debate of a new national
Valenzuela-Vergara 7

immigration policy discussed in the Congress and during the presidential elec-
tion campaigns. As Gissi-Barbieri and Ghio-Suárez (2017) stated, in 2016, Chile
experienced an unprecedented “politicization of immigration” in which even
some presidential candidates raised the issue of immigration as a problem.
All articles were located using each newspaper’s online archives. The main
criterion for selection was that the major topic in each article refers to the
situation of immigration in Chile. I used keywords such as “migrant” and
“immigrant” to search for articles and also the nationalities of the most impor-
tant communities such as “Peruvians,” “Colombians,” “Dominicans,”
“Argentineans,” and “Haitians.” A total of 507 articles were identified including
news reports, editorial columns, letters to the editor, and interviews.
The study uses qualitative content analysis to investigate how news media in
Chile has covered immigration issues during 2016. According to Schwandt
(1997), content analysis is “a generic name for a variety of means of textual
analysis that involve comparing, contrasting, and categorization a corpus of
data” (p. 21). The method of study consists of an inductive, in-depth, and
reflexive approach of the print news to investigate the deeper meanings of the
articles (Altheide & Schneider, 2013). Instead of using preexisting codes, I devel-
op a coding schema grounded in the data, thus allowing categories, frames, and
meanings to emerge throughout the study. The unit of analysis was each news-
paper story. In a first phase, I read all the articles selected in the analysis and
created a standardized coding sheet, identifying the name of the newspaper, date
of publication, section of the newspaper, story type, the length of the news items,
source selection, country of origin of immigrants, and tentative identification of
frames of immigration. In a second phase, I reread each article and refined the
coding schema using a constant comparative approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967),
in which coded data and categories were continually compared and contrast to
identify thematic patterns, develop explanations for similarities and differences,
and better understand the meanings of the research topic. I examined in detail
the tone of the article, the language, how immigrants were labeled, and the type
of actions that were associated with them. I also examined not only which
aspects of immigration were highlight by newspapers but also which ones
were omitted (de Vreese et al., 2001).
The analysis led to six themes by which the press represents immigration: (a)
“security issues” that include immigrants’ criminal activity, court cases, and
violence; (b) “immigration policies” that include articles about legislation and
policy reforms relating to immigration; (c) “magnitude news” or statistics of
immigration, which are news that commonly show the increase in percentage of
immigrants; (d) “immigrants’ civil society” that tell stories on daily activities,
work, culture, and social relationships of immigrants; (e) “education” that
encompasses stories of schooling and professional training; and (f) “other immi-
gration issues” that include issues related to refugees, children and youth, tele-
vision and entertainment, and seminars and conferences about immigration.
8 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

Table 1. Type of News.

Frequency Percent

Valid
Informative news 380 75.0
Opinion 89 17.6
Report 23 4.5
Interview 15 3.0
Total 507 100.0

Figure 1. Number of news items on immigration in Chile covered by El Mercurio, La Estrella

de Arica, and La Tercera in 2016 (N ¼ 507).

I also code the prevailing tone of each story (de Vreese & Boomgaarden,
2003). A negative tone was indicated by a focus on migration as a problem or
threat to Chile. A positive tone was identified as expressing sympathy or support
toward immigrants, for example, seen them as contributors to the economy,
culture, or politics of the country. A neutral tone was understood as having
neither a positive nor a negative tone. The qualitative analyses were conducted
entirely by the author of the study. No second coder was involved, and inter-
coder reliability was not measured for the study.
Figure 1 shows the number of news items on immigration in Chile published by
El Mercurio, La Tercera, and La Estrella de Arica per month in 2016. On average,
I found 42 articles per month about immigration, with an increase at the end of
the year. El Mercurio published the greatest number of news items (41%), fol-
lowed by La Estrella de Arica (34%). The newspaper articles varied in length,
ranging from 24 to 3,452 words, and 75% were informative pieces. The details of
the frequencies and percentages of the type of news are shown in table 1.
Sixty-one percent of the news items referred to Latin American immigrants,
mostly Peruvians, Colombians, Dominicans, and Bolivians; 36% focused on
Valenzuela-Vergara 9

Figure 2. Main topics covered by El Mercurio, La Tercera, and La Estrella de Arica in

2016 (N ¼ 507).

“immigrants in general” without specifying nationality; and only 2% reported

on Asian immigrants (Syria, Iraq, and China).
Regarding press language, the media are using different terms to refer to
immigrants, depending on their countries of origin. Press reports use terms
like “immigrant,” “foreign,” “refugees,” “non-Chilean citizens,”
“undocumented,” and “illegal alien” interchangeably. Racist and xenophobic
terms previously found in the press by scholars in the 1990s and 2000s, such as
“dark-skinned,” “indigenous,” “needy,” “illiterate,” or “minority,” were not
commonly found in this study.
The next section shows the main findings of the study including the dominant
frames and source selection in media coverage of immigration in Chile. The last
part discusses whether there is a shift in the way media sources are representing
immigration compared to previous reports.

Analysis
Newspaper Coverage of Immigration in Chile: A Dual Discourse
The main topics highlighted by El Mercurio, La Tercera, and La Estrella de
Arica were security (33%), followed by immigration policies (26%), and immi-
grants’ civil society (18%). Figure 2 shows the main topics covered by the three
Chilean newspapers in 2016.
A dual discourse of immigration prevails in the Chileans press. On the one
hand, there is a criminalization discourse of immigrants in security and
10 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

magnitude news, which frame them as delinquents, deviant, and dangerous

people. On the other hand, a positive and humanizer discourse on immigration
is used in most of the immigration policy news and civil society news.

The criminalization of immigrants: Security and magnitude issues. News items about
security news are recurrent in the Chilean press. Reported as small notes in the
national editorials section, this group of news shows specific “social problems,”
whereby the most common are drug trafficking (26%), and “illegal” or “clandestine”
entry into the country (18%). Less frequent are news articles about immigrants
accused of smuggling, public disturbances, human trafficking, theft, and kidnapping.
Only five articles referred to cases in which immigrants were the victims of crime.
Of the three newspapers, La Estrella de Arica is the one that publishes the
highest number of news stories on security. This is hardly surprising, as Arica
shares a border with Peru and Bolivia and is an entry point for many immi-
grants. In that regard, La Estrella de Arica, responding to local needs and the
demands of its community, tends to publish short notes about immigrants’
arrests for crossing different borderlands such as the Atacama Desert, the rail-
way Arica-La Paz, the international airport, Arica’s harbor, and the border
crossing of Chacalluta-Santa Rosa.
Practically all security news refer to immigrants from Latin American coun-
tries, mostly from Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Using a crim-
inalizing framework, editorials associate these communities to certain types of
crime, where the most frequent are the link between Colombians and drug
trafficking and public disturbances, and Peruvians and Dominicans, with
undocumented status and human trafficking.
The stereotype that associates Colombian immigrants with drug-related
issues has been widely dispersed by the mass media (Guarnizo & Diaz, 1999).
The Chilean press follows a similar pattern with common headlines like:
“Colombian bikers attempt to smuggle a massive shipment of synthetic drugs
into the country” (El Mercurio, May 2016) and “Colombian should be impris-
oned until 2022 for smuggling drugs in shampoo and towels” (El Mercurio, May
2016). The majority of arrests take place in the Atacama Desert, the Chacalluta
Border, and other borderlands and are due to drug trafficking, specifically of
marijuana, ecstasy, LSD, and cocaine. A group of news stories refers to the
variety of ways in which Colombians hide drugs upon entering the country,
using cosmetics, sheets, body lotions, rocks, woods, and boxes of candy. As
the news notes, these “unusual techniques” and “innovative strategies” have
been introduced, thereby complicating the work of border patrol. In addition,
Colombian immigrants used to be associated with violent crimes such as hom-
icides, fights, and public disturbances, contributing to their image as problem-
atic and dangerous to Chilean society. These stories often highlight the
coordinated work of police officers disrupting organized crime groups, control-
ling public disturbances and detaining undocumented immigrants.
Valenzuela-Vergara 11

Several times, security reports use the term illegal referring to immigrants that do
not have a legalized status in the country, but they also use terms such as
“clandestine” and “undocumented” immigrant. The association between
Dominican immigrants and “illegal” crossing and human trafficking is powerful.
The news items, published especially by La Estrella de Arica, emphasize the number
of detentions: “Caught 18 Dominicans for crossing the border,” “11 Dominicans
arrested on Tacna-Arica railroad,” and “9 Dominicans caught walking on the
border.” They label immigrants as “illegal aliens” or “illegal Dominicans.” This is
even more problematic when news stories employ testimonies that use “Dominican
immigrants” as synonyms for “undocumented persons” or “human trafficking”:

In fact, according to prosecutors and the police, not a week goes by without the
initiation of a dangerous police operation: in minefields, on the coastal border, on
the railroad line between Arica (Chile) and Tacna (Peru), or near the border check-
point at Chacalluta (. . .) and regarding the trafficking of immigrants, the figures
are all but monopolized by the Dominicans. (El Mercurio, August 2016)

When renting out properties, we have been told not to rent to Dominicans, only to
legal people. (El Mercurio, January 2016)

Although not all articles explicitly use the term illegality, repeating notions of
“undocumented” or “illegal” can have serious consequences for society’s treat-
ment of immigrants in the country. “Illegality” or undocumented status is
depicted as a static condition, without considering that it is merely circumstan-
tial. The strong association between immigrants and detentions creates negative
stereotypes of this group, contributing to their stigmatization and discrimina-
tion. As some scholars have argued, the media repeatedly places labels on
immigrants, ultimately linking communities to criminal acts. Although not as
common, some media outlets act in an even more problematic way, assuming
that certain crimes have been committed by immigrants without possessing any
evidence of wrongdoing. For example, an article published by El Mercurio
suggests that the main culprit of a kidnapping is a “foreign gang” because the
victim thought that she heard a “foreign accent.” Assumptions such as this one,
which should be avoided when presented with so little evidence, serve only to
reinforce negative images and prejudices and to fuel anti-immigrant sentiment.
The criminalization discourse of immigrants is also present on articles about
magnitude. The assumption that immigration rates in Chile are growing is pre-
sent in most of the news items analyzed, but 11% of the articles focus exclusively
on this issue. This coverage is different in many ways: Reports are long and
detailed, sometimes appearing on the front page, using national surveys and
statistics, showing graphs and tables, and referring to immigrants as a whole
(and as a homogenous group). Here, numbers are the focus of study: “Number
of foreigners settled in the country rises by 123% over a 13 year period,
12 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

according to official figures” (El Mercurio, January 2016); “In six months, eight
times more Haitians have arrived than all the arrivals in 2013” (El Mercurio,
August 2016); “Immigrant population increased from 2.1% to 2.7% in two
years” (La Estrella de Arica, December 2016). Immigration is still being pre-
sented as a recent phenomenon, with new waves of immigrants arriving at the
country, and making a series of changes in Chilean society. These news stories
highlight an increase in the percentage of immigrants, although the total remains
low, and significantly lower than other countries, contributing to an exaggerated
perception of the phenomenon.
As some scholars have found, news regarding the magnitude of immigration
contained a clear sense of exaggeration and sensationalism, in some cases
employing pejorative terms when referring to the rise in immigration. The
main concerns are “the massive influx of Haitians,” the increase in undocument-
ed immigrants, makeshift settlements in the North of Chile, the “strong rise” in
traffic and crime, and the lack of regulation in the remittance market. Reports
alert readers that Chile is experiencing a “new” immigration phenomenon and
that urgent public policies are needed to control and regulate this situation. This
is similar to what Santa Ana (2002) found regarding Latinos’ immigration into
the United States, and how metaphoric systems have shaped the public opinion
about them. As the author says, one way of dealing metaphorically with Latinos
was to brandish them as invaders, misrepresenting them as unwanted immi-
grants. Such news does not foster learning about immigration but instead
serves to bolster the idea that immigration is an “unresolved problem.”
The most controversial news item of the year was published by El Mercurio
on August 30. On the cover of the editorial section, the article states that “52%
of people accused of crimes in the extreme north of the country are foreigners.”
Using military language, the report suggests that, according to the police, not a
week goes by that law enforcement does not have to embark on a dangerous
police operation: alongside minefields, on the coastal border, on the railroad line
between Arica (Chile) and Tacna (Peru), or near the border control of
Chacalluta. In three instances, the article reiterates the nationalities of the immi-
grants detained: Peruvians, Dominicans, Bolivians, and Colombians charged
with human and drug trafficking, as well as crossing the border in an unauthor-
ized area. The different types of crime are analyzed and treated in the same way,
thereby creating a huge distortion. Headlines like this one could have substantial
effects on the public’s perception of immigration. In that way, it is not surprising
that 41% of the Chileans believe that immigrants raise crime rates (CEP, 2017)
despite the fact that they have lower rates of criminality compared to Chileans.

Humanizing immigrants: Immigration policy and civil society. In contrast to the previous
dominant narrative of immigrants, which portray them as criminals, drugs deal-
ers, “illegals” and violent people, a counter-narrative, which humanize
Valenzuela-Vergara 13

immigrants is present in most of the news regarding immigration policy and

immigrants’ civil society.
First, reports on immigration policy include both, news regarding immigra-
tion legislation as well as specific public policies targeting this population. The
need to formulate a new national immigration policy is the most frequent and
pressing topic and makes up the majority of letters and opinion pieces reacting
to the political debate on immigration. Much of the recent news refer to delays,
misunderstanding, and problems with a new law being discussed in Congress. A
congressional debate increased its press coverage during the last months of the
year. A group of immigration policy news promotes the ideas of integration and
social protection of immigrants. Captions inform us that “we are all
immigrants” and that “Chile is a country with open doors” and “open borders.”
Chile is portrayed as an open country that has promoted tolerance, cooperation,
and the inclusion of immigrants. Nevertheless, this image is not new in the
Chilean press, and the debate about the need to modernize immigration laws
has been present in the press for a long time, without major progress on
this front.
Second, news on immigrants’ civil society, which includes notes on daily
activities work, culture, and social relationships of immigrants also use a
more humanizing discourse. Overall, these reports show positive attributes of
immigrants, use more cautious language, include immigrants’ viewpoints, and
clear up previous misconceptions about immigrants. Referring to them as
“foreign,” or “immigrants” without any additional labels, reports recount suc-
cessful stories of immigrants’ integration in Chilean society, lauding their cour-
age and strength in traversing the country, and reporting on their cultural
contribution through the introduction of their cuisine, celebrations, and tradi-
tions. Moreover, the news emphasizes immigrants’ higher educational and pro-
fessional levels, as compared to that of the average Chilean.
Some news articles depict immigrants as an active and organized group inter-
ested in political issues. These stories report on their reactions to immigration
policies, public protests against discrimination, immigrants’ social movements,
and their interest and participation in national elections. A report published by
El Mercurio shows how the immigrant vote can be extremely influential in the
next municipal elections. One caption reads: “Seven of the 11 municipalities with
the highest proportion of foreign voters are in the Metropolitan Region.
According to the Director of Immigration, these new voters will have a higher
voter turnout rate than Chileans” (El Mercurio in June 2016). This article is the
newspaper’s featured story and uses pictures, graphs, and infographics to sup-
port its arguments.
Immigrants’ interest and engagement in Chilean politics can be a powerful
tool for social integration. Reports showing immigrants’ celebrations and par-
ticipation in soccer games and tournaments also help with immigrants’ integra-
tion. During 2016’s Centennial Copa America, headlines such as these were
14 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

commonplace: “A fervent passion for soccer unites Haitians in Chile” (El

Mercurio, June 2016); “Colombians celebrate awaiting their next opponent”;
“Now Colombians place their chips on La Roja” (La Estrella de Arica, June
2016); “Bolivians celebrate with fricassee and chicken sajta” (La Estrella de
Arica, June 2016). Using an appealing narrative, these news items show how
immigrants celebrated the tournament, which kind of food they ate, and which
cabalas or superstitions they performed. As immigrants’ testimonies indicate,
their celebrations are “always happy,” “enthusiastic,” and “at home with fam-
ily.” These reports show a more humanizing narrative, in contrast to the previ-
ous hegemonic discourse of immigrants, which portrayed them as criminals
or “illegals.”
A small number of news reports inform the public about immigration and
education in Chile. Most of the stories tell specific policies schools are imple-
menting to integrate immigrants’ children including the celebration of a multi-
cultural day, incorporation of the Peruvian national anthem, changes in the
educational curriculum, and even includes the implementation of exchange
and cooperation programs with schools from immigrant children’s countries
of origin. For example, in July, La Tercera published a report entitled
“Immigrants’ children in schools: a work in progress,” which details some pol-
icies introduced to integrate the growing number of immigrant students in the
classroom, including changes in the educational curriculum and traditional
celebrations.
Only two reports are describing the situation of European immigrants in
Chile: “Italians in Arica” and “Germans colonies in the South of Chile.”
Using a positive tone, reports associate these communities with notions of prog-
ress, development, and success. Moreover, journalists highlight immigrants’
contributions by mentioning their professions: “amateur merchant,” “Italian
merchants,” and “foreign businessmen.” Thus, immigrants’ professions and
their contributions acquired importance, sometimes more than their countries
of origins. About this, an interview with a religious leader underscores the point:
“We call Europeans foreigners and Latinos, immigrants” (La Tercera,
December 2016).
Although some positive aspects of immigrants are shown in the Chilean
press’s discourse, it is relevant to note that most of these are published in special
editions, supplements, or specialized sections of the newspaper like Economy and
Business, Revista Campo, Revista Del Domingo, Revista Ya, and Reportajes.
These kinds of reports have a narrower distribution, access, and exposure to
readership than the main body of the newspaper (Fernández Ortiz, 2004). In
addition, only a small group of news stories shows the struggles and problems
faced by immigrants in Chile, such as poverty and discrimination, issues related
to immigration status, lack of secure housing, limited access to services, lan-
guage barriers, and a lack of recognition of their professional qualifications.
Regarding education and immigration, no significant information provided
Valenzuela-Vergara 15

about social exclusion, racism, and bullying at schools. During the entire year,
there was only one news article reporting a situation of discrimination and
xenophobia at schools based on a study: “Immigrants’ families feel that schools
have no authority to prevent discrimination” (El Mercurio, January 2016).
There is an absence of discussion regarding the situation of immigrants’ chil-
dren, what their situation at school is, how they feel, and their profile. The case
of immigrant university students is notoriously absent in the media debate
as well.

Immigration Experts in Chile

Who is discussing immigration in Chile? Do they have a particular discourse?
How often do they appear in the print media? Seventy-eight percent of news-
paper reports use interviews as a primary source. Twenty-four percent of the
news items quote governmental officials such as ministers, senators, congress-
men, national directors, and mayors. In the second place, 20% of news items
quote individuals from the field of justice, including lawyers, national and
regional prosecutors, police, majors of the antidrug unit, lieutenants, public
defenders, police commissioners, and investigative police subprefects. In con-
trast to findings that argue that the immigrant voice is practically absent in mass
media, close to one fifth of news releases use the direct narrative of immigrants
in Chile. The most common testimonies are from Colombian, Dominican, and
Peruvian immigrants.
Although the media tends to interview individuals from different sectors to
cover immigration issues, during 2016, the debate was dominated by two
authorities: The National Director of the Foreign and Migration Department
(DEM) and the Director of the Jesuits’ Service for Migrants and Refugees
(JSM).a Their immigration discourse, which is based on an inclusive and
human rights approach, received media coverage, as journalists appealed to
both leaders to define concepts and explain and clarify immigrants’ issues, espe-
cially regarding immigration policies and security concerns:

We have a very clear signal from the President of the Republic to promote inte-
gration and tolerance for diversity. (National Director of the DEM in La Tercera,
April 2016)

Immigrant children are a component of social cohesion for the future. (National
Director of the DEM in La Tercera, July 2016)

We need an immigration policy that understands that immigrants, before being

workers, are subjects of rights. (National Director of the JSM in El Mercurio,
January 2016)
16 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

In addition, both individuals were essential opinion leaders for right-wing pol-
iticians who promoted a discourse espousing stricter controls and regulations
for immigrants. Right-wing politicians suggested that many of the gangs of
criminals in Chile, such as those that produce counterfeit credit cards, were
foreigners. For example, the cover of La Tercera on November 29 was titled
“Chile’s Vamos Party takes the flag against illegal immigration,” and the inter-
viewed parties make strong statements linking immigrants with delinquency.
These claims also coincide with the presidential elections in the United States,
contributing to increased coverage of immigration policies during November
and December 2016. Journalists usually called on both experts to explain or
to react to stigmatized perceptions of immigrants or to analyze the situation in
the United States. For example, the Director of the JSM cautions of the dangers
of imitating U.S. immigration policies aimed at decreasing immigration:

When you believe you are regulating because it creates more bureaucracy or more
barriers, what it does is prepare the land for these gangs to appear. And the tre-
mendous thing about it is that these gangs, which thrive off excluded and vulner-
able people, are beginning to behave like the gangs I saw on the U.S. border with
Mexico, and that operate with great violence. (Director of the JSM in La Tercera,
November 2016)

The prominence of governmental sources in the news is common across nations

and media types, but the same cannot be said of religious leaders.
Thorbjørnsrud (2015) found that elected officials and dominant political parties
were the principal sources for immigration news in the United States, France,
and Norway, while religious leaders have a minimal media presence in this area.
The case of Chile is different, as the Catholic Church has had a historical and
institutional role in the creation of human rights organizations. Since colonial
times, the Church had been directly involved in politics, and even after the
separation of Church and state in 1925, the Church remained extremely influ-
ential in the social, moral, and political life of Chilean society (Loveman, 1998;
Smith, 1982). For example, during the Chilean military dictatorship, the
Catholic Church played a crucial role in the creation and development of
human right movements, in contrast to the Uruguayan and Argentinian dicta-
torship experiences, in which the Catholic Church had little influence (Loveman,
1998). Therefore, the prominence of religious leaders in immigration news could
be related to the Church’s cultural and historical tradition of promoting human
rights and advocating for a discourse of social inclusion.
The continued reliance of the media on government and religious leaders may
be associated with the fact that immigration in Chile remains understudied, and
there are limited sources and experts on the topic. Other reasons could be that
some institutions are working on strategic communication, and media outlets
are developing affiliations with these sources. Regardless of the reason, the
Valenzuela-Vergara 17

strong presence of the governmental and religious leaders during the year and
their robust human right discourse undoubtedly contribute to show immigration
as a more humanized issue. However, the discourse on immigration in the
Chilean print media is limited, as the media turns to the same pundits over
and over again and offers minimal coverage of other experts such as immigrant
leaders or national and international scholars. Relying on experts who are gov-
ernment leaders is inherently problematic because the discourse then becomes
dependent upon the views on immigration of whichever political party happens
to be in power.

Is the Way That the Media Portrays the Immigration Discourse Changing?
Analyzing news representation of immigration in Chile is especially important as
the country is currently facing a significant increase in the number of immigrants,
mainly from neighboring countries. The country is in a transitional period from
being an immigrant-sending country to a newly emerging immigrant-receiving
country. The increase in the number of immigrants in Chile and the lack of studies
about the current situation of this group put media in a central role as most of the
information that people have about immigration comes from media. This is the
first study that analyzed how the Chilean press portrays immigration in Chile
from a broader viewpoint, that analyze the differences in discourse depending on
the immigrants’ country of origin, and that connect with previous findings on
this issue.
The study shows how is media covering immigration issues from a South-to-
South perspective. The representation of immigration by the Chilean print
media context shows interesting and contradictory results: a dual discourse of
immigration; a shift in the way media are representing immigration compared to
previous reports; and the absence of race in media discourse of immigration.
First, the analysis shows how the Chilean newsprint media reproduce and
maintain a dual discourse of immigration that can have serious consequences to
the public perception of the audience. On the one hand, Chilean print media are
prioritizing security news, framing immigration mostly as a threat. Despite the
reduced number of immigrants’ detentions as reflected in national statistics,
news outlets report daily incidents of drug trafficking, illegal border crossing,
human trafficking, and cases of violence, fueling the dominant opinion that
immigrants are criminals. On the other hand, a positive and humanizer dis-
course on immigration is used in most of the immigration policy news and
civil society news, portraying them as a welcoming group to the country, in
need of public services, or as integrated into the Chilean society. The dual dis-
course that criminalizes and humanizes immigrants contributes to seeing them
as “good” and “bad” immigrants, reinforcing the difference and otherness of
foreigners. As Gonzales (2013) argues, the good/bad immigrant binary is an
ideological framework, a “common sense” rhetoric assuming that some
18 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

immigrants may “pass,” and others must be controlled and cleansed from the
nation. The Chilean press installs imaginaries of “bad” immigrants: “illegal
Dominicans,” “Colombians drug traffickers,” “massive influx of Haitians.” A
“good” immigrant, in contrast, is one who deserves to be protected by the
Chilean government, one who participates in political elections and celebrates
Chileans triumphs on soccer tournaments. Showing a good/bad immigrant
binary can have a significant effect on the audience ranging from experiencing
fear, violence to feelings of tolerance and empathy, which result in increasing
difference. In both cases, nationality and its repetition across the news are the
key strategy that media use to frame immigrants’ news.
In addition, the Chilean case shows how frames can change throughout the
coverage of immigration issues. Vis-à-vis previous studies on mass media cov-
erage of immigration during the 1990s and 2000s in Chile, this analysis shows a
shift in the way media are representing immigration. El Mercurio, La Estrella de
Arica, and La Tercera are offering new and different narratives; journalists are
using more cautious language; and the media are attempting to dispel old mis-
conceptions and stereotypes about immigrants that were common in press pieces
of past decades. However, it is important not to categorically assume that the
Chilean press is becoming more tolerant than before. First, the exceptional
characteristics of immigrants in Chile, with their higher income levels, educa-
tion, health conditions, and lower rate of criminality compared to Chile’s
national average, is being addressed by media, but mostly superficially and
reactively. These assumptions are rarely headlines or explained in depth by
the newspapers, and most of the headlines and cover pages give priority to
stories covering the magnitude of immigration and security issues. Second,
this “shift” on the immigration discourse has to do with the significance cover-
age of governmental and nongovernmental organization leaders that have con-
tributed to portray a more humanizer view of immigrants. This can be
problematic, as the discourse on immigration can change abruptly due to a
change in government leadership. Given this scenario, the print media should
employ other sources to enrich and diversify their press reports. A related point
is that, even though the media have been including the voice of immigrants,
immigrant organizations and immigrant social movements are not included.
Finally, the idea that immigrants are contributing to the debate of race in
Chile is also not evident in the media. The immigration discourse avoids talking
about racism, race, and xenophobia, and there is not a problematization of these
issues. This was clear in the analysis of education’s news, which highlights
stories of inclusion and successful practices that schools were implementing in
order to integrate immigrant children, while experiences of social exclusion,
racism, and bullying at schools were not considered. As Van Dijk (1992)
points out, racial denial in the press is not an unconscious practice; it takes
the form of resignation, mitigation, euphemisms, and transference, which
have an important effect on people’s reception of the information. In this
Valenzuela-Vergara 19

way, racism survives only when it is reproduced daily through multiple acts of
exclusion, internalization, or marginalization.
The Chilean print media offers us one version of the changes in immigration
in Chile; however, there are topics not yet covered by the press. The study leads
to important new questions about how news is framing immigration in Chile.
For instance, what is happening with immigrants that come from Argentina,
from Europe, or from other Latin American countries like Mexico? Information
about immigrants from other countries has not been covered by the press and
has not even been considered as part of the same phenomenon of immigration.
In addition, it is crucial to generate more information and news about other
immigration topics that are still absent from the media, such as human traffick-
ing, refugees, women, children and youth, asylum seekers, immigrants’ housing
conditions, and immigrants’ social networks.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

Note
a. The JSM is a nonprofit organization that provides services and assistance to immi-
grants and refugees in Arica, Antofagasta, and Santiago.

References
Altheide, D. L., & Schneider, C. J. (2013). Qualitative media analysis (Vol. 38). Thousand,
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Barandiarán, J. (2012). Researching race in Chile. Latin American Research Review,
47(1), 161–176.
Benson, R. (2013). Shaping immigration news. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Browne, R. F., & Romero, P. (2010). Análisis cr
ıtico del discurso (ACD) de la repre-
sentaci

on boliviana en las noticias de la prensa diaria de cobertura nacional: El caso
de El Mercurio y La Tercera [Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the Bolivian
representation in the Chilean nationwide daily press news: The case of the newspapers
El Mercurio and La Tercera]. Polis, Revista de la Universidad Bolivariana, 9(26),
233–249.
Centro de Estudios P
usblicos (CEP) [Center of Public Studies]. (2017). Encuesta nacional
de opini
ublica N 79 [National Public Opinion Survey. No. 79]: April–May 2017.
on p

Santiago de Chile.
20 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

Chavez, L. (2008). The Latino threat: Constructing immigrants, citizens, and the nation
(2nd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Cisneros, J. D. (2008). Contaminated communities: The metaphor of “immigrant as
pollutant” in media representations of immigration. Rhetoric & Public Affairs,
11(4), 569–601.
de la Torre D
ıaz, P. (2011). La migraci
on vivenciada en el espacio escolar: La experiencia
de alumnado extranjero en una escuela p
ublica de Santiago [The migration experi-
enced in the school space: The experience of foreign students in a public school in
Santiago]. Paulo Freire. Revista Pedagog
ıa Cr
ıtica, 10(9), 113–126.
De Vreese, C. H. (2004). The effects of frames in political television news on issue inter-
pretation and frame salience. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly,
81(1), 36–52.
De Vreese, C., & Boomgaarden, H. (2003). Valenced news frames and public support for
the EU. Communications, 28(4), 361–381.
De Vreese, C. H., Peter, J., & Semetko, H. A. (2001). Framing politics at the launch of
the Euro: A cross-national comparative study of frames in the news. Political
Communication, 18(2), 107–122.
Do~na, C. (2001). Percepci
on de la inmigraci
on reciente en Chile a través del análisis de los
medios de prensa [Perception of recent immigration in Chile through the analysis of
the press media]. Tesis para optar al T
ıtulo Profesional de Soci
ologo [Thesis to apply
for the Professional Title of Sociologist].
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean & Latin America of the
International Labour Organization. (2017). Employment situation in Latin America
and the Caribbean: Labour immigration in Latin America: Santiago de Chile, United
Nations, 16, May.
Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of
Communication, 43(4), 51–58.
Espinosa, A., & Cueto, R. M. (2014). Estereotipos raciales, racismo y discriminaci
on en
América Latina [Racial stereotypes, racism, and discrimination in Latin America]. In
E. Zubieta, J. F. Valencia, & G. Delfino (Eds.), Psicolog
ıa social y pol
ıtica. Procesos
te

oricos y estudios aplicados (pp. 431–442). Buenos Aires, Argentina: EUDEBA.
Fernández Ortiz, F. (2004). Aná lisis crıtico sobre las migraciones procedentes de Peru y
Bolivia: El discurso periodıstico de El Mercurio y La Tercera [Critical analysis on
migrations from Peru and Bolivia: A journalistic discourse of El Mercurio and La
Tercera]. Si Somos Americanos, 6(5), 123–148.
Gissi-Barbieri, E. N., & Ghio-Suárez, G. (2017). Integraci
on y exclusi
on de inmigrantes
colombianos recientes en Santiago de Chile: Estrato socioecon
omico y “raza” en la
geocultura del sistema-mundo. [Integration and exclusion of recent Colombian immi-
grants in Santiago de Chile: Socioeconomic stratum and “race” in geoculture of
world-system]. Papeles de Poblacion, 23(93), 151–179.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for quali-
tative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Gonzales, A. (2013). Reform without justice: Latino migrant politics and the Homeland
Security state. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Guarnizo, L. E., & Diaz, L. M. (1999). Transnational migration: A view from Colombia.
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 22(2), 397–421.
Valenzuela-Vergara 21

Gutiérrez, H. (2010). Exaltaci
on del mestizo: La invenci
on del Roto Chileno [Exaltation
of the mestizo: The invention of “the Chilean Roto”]. Revista Universum, 1(25),
122–139.
Hein, K. (2012). Migraci
on y transici

on: Hijos de inmigrantes de origen latinoamericano en
su transici
on de la escuela al trabajo en Chile [Migration and transition: Children of
immigrants of Latin American origin in their transition from school to work in Chile].
Si Somos Americanos, 12(1), 101–126.
Hernández, A. (2016). El curr
ıculo en contextos de estudiantes migrantes: Las comple-
jidades del desarrollo curricular desde la perspectiva de los docentes de aula
[Curriculum in contexts of migrant students: The complexities of curriculum devel-
opment from the perspective of classroom teachers]. Estudios pedag
ogicos (Valdivia),
42(2), 151–169.
Horsti, K. (2008). Hope and despair: Representation of Europe and Africa in news
coverage of ‘migration crisis’. Communication Studies, 3, 125–156.
Lakoff, G., & Ferguson, S. (2006). The framing of immigration. Berkeley, CA:
Rockridge Institute.
Loveman, M. (1998). High-risk collective action: Defending human rights in Chile,
Uruguay, and Argentina. The American Journal of Sociology, 104(2), 477–525.
Mardones, P. (2006). Exclusi
on y Sobre-concentraci
on de la Poblaci
on Escolar Migrante
bajo un Modelo de Segregaci
on Socio-territorial, Informe final del concurso:
Migraciones y modelos de desarrollo en América Latina y el Caribe [Exclusion and
over-concentration of the Migrant School Population under a Socio-territorial
Segregation Model. Final report of the contest: Migrations and development
models in Latin America and the Caribbean]. Buenos Aires: Programa Regional de
Becas CLACSO.
McCombs, M., & Ghanem, S. I. (2001). The convergence of agenda setting and framing.
In S. D. Reese, O. H. Gandy, & A. E. Grant (Eds.), Framing public life: Perspectives
on media and our understanding of the social world (pp. 67–81). New Jersey: Routledge.
Mesa Interisntitucional de Acceso a la Justicia de Migrantes y Extranjeros [Inter-
Institutional Committee on Access to Justice for Migrants and Foreigners]. (2016).
Bolet
ın estad
ıstico (N 2), Santiago de Chile.
Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad P
ublica [ Ministry of the Interior and Public Security
of Chile]. (2017). Minuta: Reforma migratoria y pol
ıtica nacional de migraciones y
extrajer
ıa [Report: Immigration Reform and National Immigration Policy]. Santiago
de Chile. Retrieved from https://cdn.digital.gob.cl/filer_public/b0/09/b0099d94-2ac5-
44b9-9421-5f8f37cf4fc5/nueva_ley_de_migracion.pdf
Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad P
ublica, Secci
on Estudios Departamento de
Extranjer
ıa y Migraci
on. (2016). Migraci
on en Chile 2005–2014 [Ministry of the
Interior and Public Security of Chile, Studies Section of the Foreign and Migration
Department DEM (2016). Migration in Chile 2005–2014]. Santiago de Chile.
Monckeberg, M. O. (2011). Los Magnates de la Prensa: Concentraci
on de los medios de
comunicaci
on en Chile [The Magnates of the Press: Concentration of the media in
Chile. Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Chile]. Santiago de Chile.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). Immigrant students
at school: Easing the journey towards integration. Reviews of migrant education. Paris,
France: OECD Publishing.
22 Journal of Communication Inquiry 0(0)

Pávez, I. (2012). Inmigraci
on y racismo: Experiencias de la ni~nez peruana en Santiago de

Chile [Immigration and racism: Experiences of Peruvian childhood in Santiago]. Si
somos Americanos. Revista de Estudios Transfronterizos, 12(1), 75–99.
Pávez, I., & Chan, C. (2018). The Second Generation in Chile: Negotiating Identities,
Rights, and Public Policy. International Migration, 56(2), 82–96.
Poblete Melis, R., & Galaz, C. (2007). La identidad en la encrucijada: Migraci
on peruana
y educaci
on en el Chile de hoy [The identity at the crossroads: Peruvian migration and
education in Chile today] (Emigra Working Papers, No. 3, pp. 1–19).
Riedemann, A., & Stefoni, C. (2015). Sobre el racismo, su negaci
on, y las consecuencias
para una educaci
on anti-racista en la ense~nanza secundaria chilena [On racism, its
denial, and the consequences for an anti-racist education in Chilean high school].
Polis, 14(42), 191–216.
Rojas Pedemonte, N., & Silva Dittborn, S. (2016). La Migraci
on en Chile: Breve reporte
y caracterizaci
on (Reporte OBIMID, Observatorio Iberoamericano sobre Movilidad
Humana, Migraciones y Desarrollo) [Migration in Chile: Brief report and character-
ization OBIMID Report, Observatorio Iberoamericano sobre Movilidad Humana,
Migraciones y Desarrollo]. Santiago de Chile.
Rojo, L. M., & Van Dijk, T. A. (1997). “There was a problem, and it was solved!”:
Legitimating the expulsion of ‘illegal’ migrants in Spanish parliamentary discourse.
Discourse & Society, 8(4), 523–566.
Romero Lizama, P. S. (2011). The different and marginalized: Representations of the
“other” immigrants in the media. The case of the peruvian, bolivian, and mapuche in
the chilean press. Journal of Latin American Communication Research, 1(2), 81–99.
Santa Ana, O. (2002). Brown tide rising: Metaphors of Latinos in contemporary American
public. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Scheufele, D. A. (1999). Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication,
49(1), 103–122.
Schwandt, T. A. (1997). Qualitative inquiry: A dictionary of terms. Thousand, Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications, Inc.
Smith, B. H. (1982). The church and politics in Chile: Challenges to modern Catholicism.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Stefoni, C., Leiva, S., & Bonhomme, M. (2017). Migraci
on internacional y precariedad
laboral. El caso de la industria de la construcci
on en Chile [International migration
and labor precariousness. The case of the construction industry in Chile]. Revista
Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana, 25(49), 95–112.
Stephan, W. G., Renfro, C. L., Esses, V. M., Stephan, C. W., & Martin, T. (2005). The
effects of feeling threatened on attitudes toward immigrants. International Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 29(1), 1–19.
Thorbjørnsrud, K. (2015). Framing irregular immigration in Western media. American
Behavioral Scientist, 59(7), 771–782.
Tijoux, M. E. (2013). Las escuelas de la inmigraci
on en la ciudad de Santiago: Elementos
para una educaci
on contra el racismo [The schools of immigration in the city of
Santiago: Elements for an education against racism]. Polis, 12(35), 287–307.
Triandafyllidou, A. (2000). The political discourse on immigration in southern Europe: A
critical analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 10(5), 373–389.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1992). Discourse and the denial of racism. Discourse & Society, 3(1), 87–118.
Valenzuela-Vergara 23

Van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Tannen, D. Schiffrin, & H.

Hamilton (Eds.), Handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 352–371). Oxford,
England: Blackwell.
Van Gorp, B. (2005). Where is the frame? Victims and intruders in the Belgian press
coverage of the asylum issue. European Journal of Communication, 20(4), 484–507.
Vicu~
na, S. J., & Rojas, T. (2015). Migraci
on internacional en Arica y Parinacota:
Panoramas y tendencias de una regi
on fronteriza [International migration in Arica
and Parinacota: Panoramas and trends of a border region]. Ediciones Universidad
Alberto Hurtado, Santiago de Chile.

Author Biography
Emilia M. Valenzuela-Vergara is a PhD student in Latin American and Latino
Studies at University of California Santa Cruz. She holds a bachelor’s degree in
sociology from Pontificia Universidad Cat
olica de Chile. Her research interests
include immigration in South America, youth and poverty, and mass media and
globalization.