Border Enforcement and Jobs

A recent study from the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center has shown that the growing number of undocumented workers entering the U.S. from Mexico is slightly improving the American economy.  Immigration from Mexico fell to historic lows during the worst years of the recession from 2007 to 2011. After forty years that brought 12 million people from Mexico to the U.S., people started heading back home.  President Obama took credit for putting “more boots on the border than ever before”, but the decrease in illegal border crossings was due mainly to the lack of jobs in the U.S.  Political parties have argues on whether the economy is benefiting by letting illegal immigrants cross the borders and get jobs in America.  



The graph above suggests that illegal immigrants or undocumented workers are making a significant contribution to the U.S. economy given what would happen to U.S. GDP were they to be deported.
The graph shows the impact on the economy if severe deportation laws were active.  The cartoons below highlight the seemingly hypocritical stance Americans tend to have; many naively think that Latino immigrants are invading our country and stealing our jobs, and yet we often treat them like dirt and don't realize how much they are actually bolstering our economy.

Team member: Manda Perkins
Publication: The Columbus Dispatch

Date: June 28th, 2012

Cartoonist: Nate Beeler (U.S.)

Title of the cartoon: Study: A Third of Americans Believe in UFOs and would Befriend Aliens

What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
This cartoon depicts an overweight, lazy American, asking these aliens about providing lawn work. He says he loves "illegals", inferring that they do hard work for cheap.
Tone of the cartoon:
1) Positive framing of undocumented immigrants
2) Negative framing of immigration policies
What “reality” is constructed/framed about immigration/immigrants?
This cartoon addresses the issue of job hypocrisy among American citizens and non citizens. Undocumented citizens have the reputation for providing labor for cheap, and American companies will often take advantage of that. This makes the United States look like a place where "anyone can find a job," attracting more and more undocumented workers to America. I think Beeler is trying to criticize the government and big business for its political two-facedness in making America an attractive place for undocumented workers (turning a "blind eye" to their "illegal" status), while trying to also be heavy handed in trying to deport them.  He also makes a statement on the ridiculousness of the term "alien" to describe a human being.

Team Member Name:  Alex Jeppesen

Publication: N/A          
Date: March 2012

Cartoonist:  Rex Babin (U.S.)   

Title of the cartoon: Now Hiring, Keep Out
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?  There’s an image of Mexican families trying to get through the fence that divides them from the America.  There is a sign that says “Now hiring” while also saying “Keep out.”

Tone of the cartoon:

1) Positive framing of undocumented immigrant

2) Negative framing of immigration policies

What “reality” is constructed/framed about immigration/immigrants?

The cartoon is suggesting that there are jobs available in the U.S. for the Mexican immigrants, but the immigration laws are discouraging immigrants from obtaining these jobs.  Statistics have shown there are plenty of jobs available that Americans would rather not do, and these “illegal” immigrants are willing to do them.  The economy doesn’t necessarily get worse from immigrants “taking your jobs”, but it does get better if people are employed for jobs that initially nobody would do. The cartoon, though, does show these immigrants as willing to sneak across the border to secure these jobs.

Team Member Name: Manda Perkins
Publication: Cagle Cartoons
Register Date: June 26th, 2012
Cartoonist: Eric Allie (U.S.)
Title of the cartoon: Immigration Policy
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
This cartoon depicts an empty dog house labeled Homeland Security. Signs are placed next to the house, warning those who may pass by to "beware of dog," but it looks like this "dog" is nonexistent.

Tone of the cartoon:
1) Neither positive or negative framing of undocumented immigrants
2) Negative framing of immigration policies
What “reality” is constructed/framed about immigration/immigrants?
This cartoon is an illustrated statement that Homeland Security's "bark is worse than their bite," demonstrating the notion that the government isn't paying as much attention to the border as they should. The cartoonist isn't convinced that the US borders are as protected as they should be.  The big, tough talk of deportation isn't backed up by our current enforcement of the border.




Team Member Name: Stefani Lewis
Publication: US News and World Report
Date: January 30th, 2012
Cartoonist: Chris Britt (U.S.)
Title of the cartoon: Immigration
Cartoon #: N/A
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
The cartoon shows immigrants attempting to cross the border illegally. The border is portrayed by an electric fence that reads, "Electrified border fence, it can kill you." It shows dead bodies strung over the fence and on both sides. Then, Hermain Cain, a a former GOP presidential hopeful is shown to say, "It's a joke, it's funny, come on, laugh," with a dead body at his feet.

Tone of the cartoon:
1) Negative framing of undocumented immigrants
2) Negative framing of immigration policies
What “reality” is constructed/framed about immigration/immigrants?
President Obama made a comment in jest about putting a moat with alligators in Texas when a higher fence was suggested to help control immigration traffic on the border. Republican Herman Cain extended the joke a little more, suggesting a fence. His description is: "It's going to be 20 feet high. It’s going to have barbed wire on the top. It’s going to be electrified. And there’s going to be a sign on the other side saying, ‘It will kill you -- Warning.'" When the press got a hold of Cain, he told NBC's David Gregory that "it was just a joke" and "not a serious plan," while saying that "American needs to learn how to take a joke". This cartoon is putting his comments into a realistic perspective, showing how barbaric and cruel his comment was, as well as it was lacking in humor, though it was supposedly a joke.  It also is indicative of a general lack of respect for immigrants in our country; they are often dehumanized and joked about to the point where it is easy to forget they are real people with goals in life just as real as any citizen in this country.



Team Member Name: Stefani Lewis

Publication: U-T San Diego 
Date: April 26th, 2012
Cartoonist: Steve Breen (U.S.)
Title of the cartoon: N/A
Cartoon#: N/A
What action is taking place in the cartoon? What is the context?
An undocumented worker is hard at work in a field, while Uncle Sam (perhaps depicting America, or American attitudes in general) is laid back behind his desk, casually reading about immigration reform.

Tone of the cartoon:

1) Positive framing of undocumented immigrants
2) Negative framing of immigration policies
What “reality” is constructed/framed about immigration/immigrants?
An argument against undocumented workers is that they are taking American citizens jobs, because the undocumented worker is willing to work more for less; this view point is why many American citizens see illegal immigration as a national problem. This cartoon shows that work is work and depicts the undocumented worker as a harder worker than American citizens in some cases. The cartoonist creates a reality in which our immigrant population will continue to work, often for low pay, while our supposed "elite" in Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House continue to thumb through immigration reform without ever really making a decision.  The main theme is that undocumented workers are not lazy and are contributing to society, unlike Uncle Sam.