Immigration and Crime in the Local News: Exploring the Macrolevel Covariates of Coverage and Framing

Contrary to empirical evidence, immigration is seen as increasing rates of crime among the public. However, most people draw from secondary sources-including local news media-to form such opinions. We examine the contextual factors impacting whether and how local media describe the immigration-crime nexus. Using data constructed from content analysis of over 3,800 news articles, we find that the likelihood of local media providing coverage of immigration and crime varies as a function of the violent crime rate, minority population size and growth, and religious and political conservatism. Additionally, news "frames" depend on contextual factors too: Articles in more affluent communities with growing minority populations link immigration to higher rates of crime but are less likely to discuss the protective effects of immigration or immigrant refugees.