June 2023 Right-Wing Media Report

June Summary:

During the June tracking period, there were 3,410 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 6,841,057,567 people worth an estimated $160,618,086 in publicity. There were 69,233 mentions on Twitter to an audience of 981,910,564 people.

The majority of overall immigration mentions in June revolved around both GOP lawmakers and conservative media outlets making claims that migrants were “overrunning” the southern border and blaming the Biden Administration for the supposed influx. Demonizing migrants by linking them to fentanyl and crime was the method of choice for multiple articles and broadcasts this month. Trump, DeSantis, Gavin Newsom, and Eric Adams came up several times on various days relating to immigration, along with attention being paid to housing migrants in IL and NY. In addition, there continued to be discussion of Title 42 ending last month with focus on pushing the narrative that the border is being flooded with migrants in its aftermath.

• The first spike occurred on June 4th with several outlets pinning the cause of economic strain on immigrants and undocumented people. In an article, Breitbart claimed “Biden has grown the U.S. payrolls by adding millions of foreign-born workers to the labor market while the share of native-born Americans in the labor market has continued to decline.” This day also saw multiple articles discussing 16 migrants who were flown from Texas to Sacramento, CA, on a private plane. Various sites discussed Gov. Gavin Newson’s response, while a Twitchy article celebrated sending migrants to a progressive area and featured tweets filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Nikki Haley outlined her plans for “curbing illegal immigration” if elected in 2024 and boasted she would defund sanctuary cities, implement a national e-verify program, and support other anti-immigrant policies.
• The second spike was on June 6th with several right-wing sites discussing announcements made by Eric Adams at a press conference on plans to house migrants. A Fox News article and others framed the challenges NY is facing to house migrants as a threat to communities and an economic toll negatively affecting New Yorkers. Breitbart ran a story claiming Adams stated he would open his residence at Gracie Mansion to migrants. There were also various stories featuring the usual conversation on fentanyl and the border.

• The third spike occurred on the 11th with several sites celebrating Trump having the most popularity in a poll done by the Western Conservative Summit. A NewsMax article and others used this poll to emphasize conservative concern over immigration and border security. Additionally, Bianca Garcia of Latinos for Trump did a segment for One American News claiming the Biden Administration is trying to cover up the “invasion at the border” in the aftermath of Title 42 and claimed there will be a spike in fentanyl deaths in coming months because of migrants.

Overall, right-wing media continued to run stories of migrants in big cities and congressional Republicans’ focus on the border:

• The fourth spike was on the 13th with Gavin Newsom discussing the border in an interview with Hannity which was picked up by several sites. A blog post by Breitbart claimed Chicago is “running a secretive network of taxpayer-funded migrant shelters” under new mayor Brandon Johnson. There was also an article by Daily Wire claiming to have anonymous sources from the Biden Administration expressing their concerns over the border post Title 42. 
• The next spike happened on the 18th with One American News broadcasting several segments focused on fentanyl, the border, migrants in NY, and the economic strain they claim immigrants are causing. In one of these segments, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis claimed Eric Adams is “incentivizing illegal immigration” and is giving away free housing. A One American News Investigates broadcast drove the narrative that the Biden Administration is lying about the state of the border and a “tsunami” of migrants is being seen there.
• Another spike happened on the 22nd with articles of impeachment against Biden being sent to house committees with GOP claims that there is a “complete and total invasion at the southern border.” DeSantis announced a coalition of 90 sheriffs from 9 states who are joining forces to “protect American communities against the consequences of the ongoing crisis at the southern border.” A report by The Federation for American Immigration Reform claiming to have collected data on the current number of “illegal aliens” in the US was a talking point for several sites, including this One American News article. 
• The last spike was on the 25th with Trump giving a speech at the Faith and Freedom Conference pushing his usual anti-immigrant rhetoric. Fox News published an article discussing a new 2024 presidential campaign ad from DeSantis highlighting his claims he will “stop the invasion.” Marjorie Taylor Green was mentioned in a Washington Examiner article and interviewed by Fox News surrounding her claims that Biden should be impeached due to the “international invasion” of the southern border.