Two reports from the FrameWorks Institute delve into Americans’ attitudes toward immigration and how these attitudes influence dialogue and one’s approach to immigration-related issues. Getting to “We”: Mapping the Gaps Between Expert and Public Understandings from Immigration and Immigration Reform, asserts that Americans tend to waiver between “us” or “them” thinking when it comes to identifying immigrants. Stories Matter: Field Frame Analysis on Immigration Reform, documents the stories being told by the most influential organizations working on immigration and analyzes the effects of the strategies behind these stories on public thinking. Together, these reports reveal what Americans struggle to understand, what cognitive resources they have available to process new information, and why these patterns in public discourse work to constrain their ability to think about a range of appropriate and effective policy options.
