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Welcome to the Immigration Justice Messaging Toolbox!
This site provides resources to advance your narrative change work for immigration justice. Most of the content is thanks to the amazing leadership of We Make The Future and The Opportunity Agenda. This toolbox is a collection of the most current messaging guidelines, tips, and research to effectively organize and communicate for an inclusive, safe future for migrants in California. If you only have a few moments, follow the guidance below from We Make The Future.
Resource Media provides these resources as a fellow TCE grantee. Contact us at resourcehub@resource-media.org with any questions or to learn more!
Understand the dominant narrative (without repeating it!)
Understand the dominant narrative (without repeating it!)
Dominant narratives around immigrants in the media often capture and exploit the general public's fear and anxieties. This negative discourse is used to distract and divide us, and serves no one beyond anti-immigrant activists. It’s painful to look at these messages, but to undermine them we must understand them.
Anti-immigrant spokespeople are consistent in using two dominant themes, regardless of their specific point:
Criminality and Law and Order Narrative
There is an inherent criminality to immigrating to the U.S.
“What part of ‘illegal’ don’t you understand?”
Threat of Terrorism, drugs, and danger
Stealing “our” resources
Resource Scarcity Narrative
Job Competition
Health Care Cost and Access
Draining Social Services
Reclaim the conversation around immigration by sticking to our values
Reclaim the conversation around immigration by sticking to our values
Authoritarian players are moving an agenda grounded in dominant narratives that do not reflect the values many of us share. These messages erode public support for the kinds of policies our communities need, divide us, and harm new immigrants in order to take away our freedoms.
Research shows that people react positively to messages that connect with their deeply-held values – especially those they see as fundamental to America.
As you talk about immigration policies, you can emphasize the following values:
Community
Equality
Shared Responsibility
Opportunity
Justice
Human Rights
When we anchor all of our messages in a shared value, we uplift the courage and tenacity of people who move to the United States, and celebrate the interconnectedness of communities throughout the country.
Values Based Framework
Values Based Framework
We understand that immigration advocates speak to different communities with unique regional concerns and challenges. But to effectively organize against broad negative messaging, we need to create a new story around immigration that emphasizes workable solutions and shared values. When we communicate our collective vision of a better future, we seed productive conversations that help build power in community.
As you develop your messaging, tailor what elements and talking points you use to best resonate with the communities you work with.
Emphasize Workable Solutions:
Americans are beginning to see how broken the immigration system is and how few permanent solutions there are. Our messaging should promote solutions that enable full economic and civic participation, focusing on impact solutions at the local and regional level.
Example: We need shared solutions to improve health care, education, jobs, and the economy for everyone who lives here. Immigrants have a stake in those systems—we are caregivers and health professionals, teachers and students—and we are a part of the solution.
Infuse Messages with Values:
Americans are most likely to support policies that welcome immigrants when we connect them to our shared values. Arguments about the costs and benefits of immigrants are seen as transactional and reinforce ideas that newcomers are potential burdens.
Example: Immigrants play a vital role in our communities, our culture, and our economy. We go to church, we volunteer with the PTA, we pay taxes and work at hard jobs that our economy needs.
3. Stand Together:
We must rally around the values that we share and our common interests to expand opportunity for everyone. When we unite and embrace immigrants, we push against the false narratives that blame immigrants for economic inequality and structural problems.
Example: Our economy and our trade and immigration policies aren’t working for anyone but a select few. Instead of scapegoating immigrants and terrorizing families and communities, we should make America work for all of us.
4. Remind Audiences that Immigrants are a Part of Us:
Instead of describing immigrants as outsiders who benefit us, remind audiences that immigrants are and always have been integral to our communities and our nation.
Example: Generations of immigrants have come to America in search of opportunity and have contributed to our shared prosperity. Preserving that tradition is essential to our future in an increasingly connected world.
The Opportunity Agenda provides clear, values-based messaging guidelines based on research, insight from media monitoring and analysis, and the experience of immigration advocates, activists, and immigrants.
Value based arguments about immigration system abuses
Due Process
Due process, fair hearings, and access to legal representation are cornerstone American values. These principles have guided our justice system since our founding and must remain at the heart of our immigration policies. These systems only have integrity when they are applied equitably and fairly.
Raids
Militarized raids on families and workplaces, brutal detention facilities, and the lack of due process are un-American and a national shame. The United States was founded to reject violence and repression, not repeat it. This enforcement is coming at the expense of American taxpayers – all to help line the pockets of private prison companies and government contractors.
Family Reunification
Some propose that we ignore family ties in our immigration system. But keeping families together resonates deeply across political and cultural divides—it’s a value Americans recognize in ourselves and admire in others. Welcoming newcomers but separating and splitting their families is contrary to who we are as a nation.
Narrative Change in Digital Spaces: A Framework:
Narrative Change in Digital Spaces: A Framework:
Digital storytelling that tells pro-immigrant narratives can reshape public perception, inspire policy change, and build a more inclusive vision for society. This can look like sharing stories that humanize immigrants and emphasize their contributions to society.
Define your narrative goal:
Define American believes that it is critical to address the powerful anti-immigrant narratives that dominate so much discourse in this space, and to promote a positive vision of a pro-immigrant future. Here are 3 questions to help determine how to effectively combat anti–immigrant messages while promoting a positive immigration narrative.
What are you combating?
What are you promoting? (This message should be the inverse of the anti-immigrant message.)
Define your message. Describe the messaging shift that you hope to create.
Know your audience:
Define American has shared research on audience groups they identified that fall within the Moveable Middle, focusing on those with the potential to shift their perspective towards pro-immigrant attitudes and actions:
“Taking Responsibility” – Social rule-followers who are interested in culture and invested in their local communities.
“Following The Plan” – Church-goers who respect authority and are interested in helping others.
“Doing My Own Thing” – Autonomous pleasure-seekers who are interested in fun, play, relaxation, personal growth, and fandoms.
“Getting It Done” – ‘Do it yourself’ go-getters who are interested in action and practical solutions. *Over a quarter of this audience are immigrants themselves.
Based on your narrative goal, you can determine what audience would be most receptive, and create content featuring immigrants or an immigration-related theme that you think would appeal to them.
Define America shares a comprehensive view of narrative influence, audience engagement, and narrative strategies for moving the middle toward pro-immigrant and immigration attitudes. Check out their Immigrants Belong: The Toolkit to find more exercises and research to help build up your digital storytelling efforts.
Creating Content to Reach your Audience
Well-planned and beautifully executed advocacy content often receives little to no attention on social media. Here are some tips to keep your content fresh, accessible and engaging:
Align Values and Messaging
Clearly communicate your key messages. Authenticity is key!
Prioritize Storytelling Over Selling
Focus on impactful, human-centered stories rather than just promoting donations or actions.
Highlight the real world impact of your nonprofit’s work.
Keep It Simple and Actionable
Focus on one core message per piece of content.
Ensure that the content includes a clear, easy-to-follow call to action,
Incorporate Interactive Elements When Appropriate
Content should encourage interaction.
Lean into Creative Freedom
Be open to different content formats, whether it’s a heartfelt video, a humorous reel, or a podcast episode.
Alternatively, you can consider working with an influencer to ensure that your content receives the viewership that it deserves.
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