US immigrants are three times more likely to be undocumented on TV than in real life

Of the immigrant characters on US TV last year with an explicitly stated immigration status, 63% were undocumented, according to a report by the USC Norman Lear Center and the nonprofit advocacy group Define American. In reality, just 24% of US immigrants are undocumented.

The report looked at 129 immigrant characters (pdf) across 59 scripted TV shows on US networks and streaming services. The vast overrepresentation of undocumented immigrants is just one example of US television’s habit of framing stories involving immigration around criminality.

Nearly a third of episodes with immigration themes were about deportation, the report found, while 25% mentioned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mentions of the word “illegal” in an immigration context were not far behind, at 22%.

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