This Week's Immigration Rallies:  Effective PR from a Staged Event

by Frank Williams - April 11, 2006

First, let me state that this article is in no way a statement of support for the agenda advocated in the April 10 "immigrant rights" rallies, nor is it a statement of opposition to that agenda. Regardless of one's feelings regarding the debate over how to best deal with the millions of people who are in this country illegally, you have to tip your hat to the Public Relations effort invested in yesterday's "immigrant rights" rallies. This article simply offers an analysis of the PR strategy behind those rallies.

1. Yesterday's rallies were a planned, coordinated series of staged events designed to obtain press coverage, make a political statement, and frame the terms of the immigration debate. Anyone who doubts the fact that these rallies were planned and coordinated need only visit www.april10.org, a web site sponsored by a Washington-based group called the Center for Community Change and bearing the name of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement.

2. Yesterday's rallies offered a clear, concise message: These rallies sought to frame their cause in the eyes of the American people by framing the immigration debate as a civil rights issue.

The following text from April10.org summarizes the organizers' cause: "You CAN make your voice heard. Join hundreds of thousands of us in telling Congress that we need real, comprehensive immigration reform – not anti-immigrant scapegoating. Tell Congress that you want immigration reform that: (1) Includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; (2) Reunites families; and (3) Ensures workplace protections and civil rights for all."

Consider the following statement from an April 11 FOX News article: "Demonstrators in New York City held signs with slogans such as 'We Are America,' 'Immigrant Values are Family Values,' and 'Legalize Don't Criminalize.' One sign said: 'Bush Step Down.'" The article went on to say, "At the Mississippi Capitol, they sang 'We Shall Overcome' in Spanish." The article added, "The Rev. James Orange from the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda compared the march to civil rights demonstrations led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and farm-labor organizer Cesar Chavez."

3. Yesterday's rallies obtained massive nationwide -- even worldwide -- press coverage.

In terms of short-term Public Relations impact, these rallies achieved their objective: they increased awareness of the immigration issue and framed it in terms of civil rights. It remains to be seen whether increased awareness of the issue will benefit the organizers' cause over the long haul. With increased awareness comes increased scrutiny and, in a post-9/11 world, increased apprehension. By increasing public awareness of the immigration issue, these rallies also shined a spotlight on the fact that there are millions of people living in the United States illegally and that it is apparently quite easy to slip across our border undetected. In a post-9/11 world this is likely to raise national security questions in the minds of many -- questions potentially large enough to reframe the terms of the entire immigration debate.

This week's immigrant rights rallies achieved their short-term objective by drawing attention to the immigration issue and framing it as a civil rights issue. The passage of time will reveal their long-term impact.

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