Building a Stronger “We”: How to Talk About Immigrant Youth

The speed and severity with which the Trump administration has enacted anti-immigrant policies have surpassed many of our expectations. It’s created upheaval not just among immigrant communities but across our society. This upheaval is not incidental; it is part of a deliberate and consistent strategy to activate anti-immigrant sentiment and deeply entrenched, xenophobic Us vs. Them mindsets. With everything from rhetoric to policy decisions, the Trump administration has employed messaging aimed at marking immigrants as “dangerously other,” fueling division, harmful policies, and the deployment of ICE in our communities.

For those working to support immigrant adolescents and youth, the challenges are compounded by another pervasive mindset: the tendency to view adolescents as inherently “other.” FrameWorks Institute’s past research has shown that Americans often perceive adolescents as wild, out of control, or fundamentally different from adults. This lens of otherness, when combined with anti-immigrant sentiment, creates a double burden for immigrant youth, painting them as doubly removed from societal norms and belonging.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed and disheartened by these ongoing attacks. Communicating about immigrant youth has always been challenging, but the stakes today require more than routine messaging. They demand a shared framing strategy, one that pushes back against dangerous rhetoric and policies today while building support for immigrant youth over the long term. We have proven tools to change how the public understands immigrant youth, and those tools work best when we use them consistently and together, now and in the future.

Here’s the strategy:

1. Appeal to our shared humanity.
   Lead with the idea that we all value human dignity and that supporting immigrant youth is an essential expression of that shared humanity. Start with this idea before discussing human rights.
2. Link immigrant youth’s wellbeing to our collective wellbeing.
   Make clear connections between their wellbeing and the wellbeing of our communities and our society. Explain how  we all benefit – now and in the future – when immigrant youth have what they need to thrive.
3. Spotlight healthy adolescent development.
   Talk about adolescence as a critical period of opportunity and growth for immigrant youth. Draw on the well-framed elements of the Core Story of Adolescence to demonstrate what immigrant youth need to thrive and how we can support them.
4. Pivot to humane, pragmatic solutions.
   When encountering opposition, shift toward practical, achievable, nonpunitive policies that benefit everyone. Describe solutions in concise, concrete, and collective ways.
5. Move from crisis stories to policy stories.
   The current immigration situation is a crisis, but crisis framing can backfire. Rather than build sustained momentum, crisis messaging can lead to fatalism and fatigue. Instead, illustrate the urgency of this issue by contrasting humane and pragmatic immigration policies with the current punitive policies that negatively impact immigrant youths’ development. Counter fatalistic thinking by explaining how policies that provide pathways to legal status, protect families from separation, and allow access to health care, education, and social services support immigrant youth’s development and wellbeing. 
6. Center lived expertise.
   Build understanding and drive support for policy change through storytelling that highlights how young people’s experiences as immigrants have cultivated deep expertise and unique insights into the immigration system and the moment at hand.
7. Explain how harmful policies affect all immigrant youth.
   Avoid the “worthiness trap” by clearly explaining the role of harmful policies for all immigrant youth, regardless of status or circumstances, then discuss effects for particular subsets of young people.
8. Frame your data.
   Contextualize data with explanations and solutions. Instead of merely showing data, explain what it conveys, what solutions it calls for, and why we should care.

We’d love to hear your feedback: How are you talking about immigrant youth right now? What are your most pressing communications needs? What kinds of resources would be most helpful for you right now? You can reach us at info@frameworksinstitute.org.