A SOCIAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON THE CONTEXT OF “ILLEGAL” IMMIGRANTS BASED ON THE WORDS- ARE YOU ILLEGAL?
Problem Identification
The issue of immigration can be quite controversial. In the past and worse now, presently, policies on immigration, especially in the United States of America have sparked a series of hot debates and resulted in serious demonstrations and protests by immigrants as well as those opposed to their rights. The most serious and conspicuous issue is about undocumented immigrants The perception and view of this group of immigrants are highly influenced by the commissions as well as omissions in historical records; in terms of their social and economic contribution(Carter, S. and Sutch, R. 2020).
In a nation like America, the number of undocumented immigrants is so big. Given their undocumented status, it is no surprise that many of them avoid being counted. Undocumented workers are victims of exploitations of varying extents; from working dirty jobs in deplorable conditions with very little or no pay to facing constant raids and arrests from authorities with threats of deportation (Abrego, L. 2011). They live in constant fear. The fact that they are termed as illegal makes it difficult for them to demand their rights to be fulfilled.
Politically, several assumptions warrant this indirect xenophobia (Alba, R. Rumbaut R. and Marotz, K. 2005). Some of the assumptions include the ever-increasing population of immigrants which at some point may compete with the native’s numbers. This assumption manifested with the rapid change in political stance in presidential elections. Another poor excuse given is the supposed need to fight terror by controlling borders- a fear-based argument, which denies the fact that existing border controls are not effective since the 9/11 attacks were carried out by terrorists who made their way into the country legally.
Last but not least, is the argument that illegal immigrants put a strain on resources. This is even though a good percentage of them are honest hard workers who greatly contribute to the social and economic well-being of the nations which they migrate into (Moses, J. 2009).
In light of these issues, this campaign was designed with hopes of stirring and constructing a response that is reasonable enough to cater to the needs of these people termed as ‘illegal (Patler, C. 2017) ‘. The first step is through the creation of awareness in terms of the language used and the impact it has on influencing attitudes; positively or negatively.
Message
This campaign dubbed ‘#AreYouIllegal’ was inspired by the #wordsmatter campaign that was spearheaded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It seeks to raise social awareness on why the classification of a group of people as illegal is a form of injustice that denies individuals humanity.
According to Chomsky (2020), the status of ‘illegality’ which immigrants are assigned is an indirect way of communicating that they are less deserving than others. The Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants prefers the use of terms like undocumented persons or irregular entry (when referring to their migration) as opposed to illegal immigrants. The terms used have an impact on public perception and policymaking. The use of inaccurate and discriminatory terms creates prejudice in language hence furthering stereotypes. It perpetuates and normalizes the idea that it is okay to punish or to prosecute people belonging to this particular as well as other minority groups.
Goals
The goal of this campaign is to raise social awareness on the implications of terms used to describe immigrants and how it aids in continuing injustice. The target is to reach as many people as possible to keep the conversation going for perceptions and attitude to shift for the better. By the end of this campaign, we hope that we will successfully influence change in the attitude of the population especially those who are largely conservatives and blind to the woes of immigrants (Jonsson, J. 2014).
The mainstream media too is part of the target audience we hope to influence because the way they report on issues involving immigrants largely influences perceptions of people at both local and national levels (O’Doherty K. and Lecouteur, A. 2011).
By choosing to use small pocket-size leaflets, and handing them out to the masses, there is a goal to discourage the use of the term illegal when referring to undocumented immigrants. The leaflets will provide a reference/ reminder of the accurate terms and positive language to be used since this campaign still echoes the ‘Words Matter’ initiative.
Target Audience
This campaign will target the closed conservatives- who subscribe to nativism, that is the preference for protecting natives’ interests over immigrants (Fussell, E. 2014). We are aware however it may be a difficult task convincing this group because it is almost impossible to teach an old dog new tricks. We will largely target the young population who are more liberal and open-minded since they will also help spread awareness through social media. This group is essential as it consists of youth who are vocal and whose opinions are not so much informed by prejudices.
We will also target the people whose poor choice of words is simply due to a lack of enlightenment and not deliberate bias. By influencing positive attitudes of natives’ towards immigrants identities as well as their children, we will be able to shape a positive tone in the language used in these intergroup relations (Triandafyllidou, A. 2003).
Implementation Strategy
Resources and Stakeholders
This campaign will bring on board public figures especially those are popular and whose immigrant statuses are openly known. Their endorsement through starting or participating in trends about the campaign will give the much-needed publicity. We shall identify social movement rights groups whose advocacy caters to the issues of immigrants. Civil society organizations and small community based- organizations too, will assist us in successfully carrying out this campaign.
We can raise funds that will help to facilitate and run the campaign activities throughout the scheduled timeline and others directed at supporting civil society groups that deal with issues of undocumented immigrants. The fundraising will be through selling branded campaign materials such as caps, t-shirts, mugs etc. We would also back up our campaign with credible facts from well- researched materials.
Tools and Techniques
To make this campaign successful, we shall use pamphlets with precise messages to raise awareness on the accurate terms to use while talking about undocumented immigrants to eliminate bias. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram etc.) will help spread the message to our target audience as well as raise awareness across the globe about this campaign (Davidson and Farquhar, 2020). Incorporating different trends will attract more engagement faster.
This campaign is set to run every day from June until October with new interventions being unveiled monthly. The interventions will take the form of vigils, workshops, holding conferences and debates, creating petitions, holding online forums and running interactive websites etc. The campaign will peak during the National Day of Immigrants, which is celebrated on 28th October every year. This day will be important and in line with our message as it promotes tolerance, recognizes the contributions and hard of immigrants as well serve as a time to reflect on the past.
References
Abrego, L., 2011. Legal Consciousness of Undocumented Latinos: Fear and Stigma as Barriers to Claims-Making for First- and 1.5-Generation Immigrants. Law & Society Review, [online] 45(2), pp.337-370. Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-5893.2011.00435.x> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Alba, R., Rumbaut, R. and Marotz, K., 2005. A Distorted Nation: Perceptions of Racial/Ethnic Group Sizes and Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Other Minorities. Social Forces, [online] 84(2), pp.901-919. Available at: <https://academic.oup.com/sf/article-abstract/84/2/901/2235429?redirectedFrom=fulltext> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Carter, S. and Sutch, R., 2020. Historical Background To Current Immigration Issues. [online] National Academy of Sciences. Available at: <https://www.nap.edu/read/5985/chapter/9#366> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Chomsky, A., 2020. Words Matter • PICUM. [online] PICUM. Available at: <https://picum.org/words-matter/> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Davidson, T. and Farquhar, L., 2020. Prejudice And Social Media: Attitudes Toward Illegal Immigrants, Refugees, And Transgender People. [online] Springer Nature Switzerland. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-29855-5_9> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Fussell, E., 2014. The warmth of the Welcome: Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, [online] 40(1), pp.479-498. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4782982/>.[Accessed 9 May 2020].
Jonsson, J., 2014. Local Reactions to Global Problems: Undocumented Immigrants and Social Work. British Journal of Social Work, [online] 44(suppl 1), pp.i35-i52. Available at: <https://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article-abstract/44/suppl_1/i35/2864866> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Moses, J., 2009. The Politics of Immigration: Introduction to a Special Issue on US Immigration. European Journal of American studies, [online] 4(3). Available at: <https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/7715> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
O’Doherty, K. and Lecouteur, A., 2011. “Asylum seekers”, “boat people” and “illegal immigrants”: Social categorisation in the media*. Australian Journal of Psychology, [online] 59(1), pp.1-12. Available at: <https://aps.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049530600941685>.[Accessed 9 May 2020].
Patler, C., 2017. “Citizens but for Papers:” Undocumented Youth Organizations, Anti-Deportation Campaigns, and the Reframing of Citizenship. Social Problems, [online] 65(1), pp.96-115. Available at: <https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article/65/1/96/3058566> [Accessed 9 May 2020].
Triandafyllidou, A., 2003. Immigrants And National Identity In Europe. 3rd ed. [ebook] New York: Routledge. Available at: <https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=Ci2DAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 9 May 2020].