The Forgotten and the Framed: A Tale of Two Refugee Crises

Author: Madeline Carpenter

May 6, 2025

In 2021, the United States saw the inauguration of Joe Biden, a president unparalleled in recent history with his willingness to welcome refugees and asylum seekers to the United States. The Biden administration set the annual cap for refugee admissions higher every year of Biden’s term, with the limit set at 125,000 in 2025 when he left office. This shift is widely seen as a catalyst for increased anti-immigration sentiment that helped get Donald Trump elected to a second term. The Democratic Party, once vocal about reversing Trump-era immigration policies, notably softened its messaging on the issue by the 2024 election cycle. Yet beyond the political rhetoric, an underreported contradiction lies in the actual implementation of early Biden-era refugee policy. In 2021, two major refugee crises revealed how dramatically U.S. response and resettlement efforts could vary depending on the political context, a phenomenon subsequently reflected through media coverage. 

Also in 2021, Haiti was faced with the culmination of years of economic turmoil, political instability, and natural disasters. In August, Haiti was still reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moise when it was struck by a massive earthquake, leading to the death and displacement of thousands. Both of these events exacerbated the migration levels that had already been rising as large amounts of Haitians were fleeing into South American countries. The U.S.-Mexico border reported 45,532 encounters with Haitian migrants in 2021, whereas there were only 4,395 reported in 2020. In September of 2021, images started circulating of border patrol agents on horseback near Del Rio, Texas. In the photos, the agents were forcefully chasing Haitian migrants away from the border. Major news outlets addressed these images. However, this was the only media coverage that migrants fleeing Haiti received at the time. 

People gather in front of the San Francisco Federal Building to protest the Biden administration's handling of the Haitian refugee crisis in San Francisco, California, US, September 24, 2021. [Image credit: Yichuan Cao/Sipa USA via AP Photo]

At the same time Haitian migrants were fleeing their country in record numbers,  the United States began its operation to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. Conflict in Afghanistan has spanned decades, affecting millions of Afghans. It is estimated that over 10 million Afghans have been displaced due to conflict that has plagued the area. Following the chaotic withdrawal of American troops in 2021, the United States committed to evacuating and resettling Afghans. Due to the chaotic nature of the evacuation, there is no reliable record detailing the exact number of refugees who were resettled during this period. Former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken estimated that the number of evacuees could be as many as 124,000. Under Operation Allies Welcome, the U.S. worked to develop new visas and expand existing processes for refugees to accommodate the influx of refugees from Afghanistan. This support coming from the federal level of government played a huge role in providing safety for the many Afghans fleeing the violence promised by a Taliban takeover. These efforts mainly focused on assisting Afghans who had previously supported U.S. military efforts. 

A qualitative study published in Visual Communication Quarterly examined how Afghan refugees were visually portrayed in the media during the Taliban’s return to power. The study concluded that images distributed by the Associated Press framed Afghan refugees positively, highlighting group agency. By contrast, there is a notable lack of published academic research available on how Haitian migrants are portrayed in the media. This disparity may reflect conflicting geopolitical dynamics. The U.S. not only had strategic interests in the region of Afghanistan but also in publicly portraying Afghans as allies to generate support for intervention by incentivizing the moral responsibility of resettlement. Meanwhile, Haiti has long been marginalized through U.S. foreign policy, and this lack of political action is mirrored in the media’s limited portrayal of Haitian migration.

Ultimately, the contrast in how Haitian and Afghan migrants were received by the federal government and the media highlights the critical role of narrative, treatment, and equity in shaping migration policy and public opinion. While the Biden administration publicly embraced a pro-refugee stance, the inconsistent execution of its policies exposed a gap in upholding that commitment in practice. Afghan allies evacuated were often left in legal limbo, struggling without a pathway to permanent legal status or self-sufficiency. Haitian migrants were met with forceful deportations and received limited media attention despite fleeing devastating natural disasters and political instability. Research shows that media framing significantly impacts public perception, often shaping who is seen by the public as a group worthy of resettlement. Positive portrayals of Afghan refugees usually emphasized their roles as U.S. allies, while Haitian migrants were more frequently framed as border threats, both sentiments that impacted policy and public opinion. This disparity became even more evident during the 2024 presidential debates when Donald Trump referred to a debunked rumor that Haitian migrants were eating the pets of people living in Springfield, Ohio. This debate reinforced increasingly common xenophobic fears and helped justify a move toward more nativist immigration policies. By failing to uphold consistent and equitable refugee resettlement, the Biden administration left space for exclusionary narratives to flourish, paving the way for a political climate increasingly fertile for fear-driven isolationist immigration policy. 

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Glossary

• Accommodate: To make space or arrangements for someone or something; in migration, it often refers to creating systems or policies to receive refugees.

• Asylum Seeker: Someone who leaves their home country and asks another country for protection because it's not safe to go back.

• Critical: Of great importance or urgency; in analysis, it refers to a careful, evaluative approach.

• Culmination: The final result or highest point of a process or series of events.

• Debunked: Proven to be false or incorrect, especially with evidence.

• Deportations: The formal removal of individuals from a country, typically for violating immigration laws or lacking legal status.

• Displacement: When people are forced to leave their homes because of war, disasters, or danger.

• Economic Turmoil: A state of severe instability or crisis in a country’s financial systems, often marked by inflation, unemployment, or poverty.

• Emphasized: Highlighted or stressed as particularly important or significant.

• Evacuation: The organized removal of people from a dangerous area for their safety.

• Exacerbated: Made worse or more severe; typically refers to a situation, problem, or conflict that has intensified due to certain actions or conditions.

• Fertile (Political Climate): Describes an environment that is favorable for certain ideas, movements, or ideologies to grow or take root.

• Flourish: To grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, often used to describe movements, ideologies, or communities.

• Foreign Policy: A government's strategy in dealing with other nations, including decisions about immigration, war, diplomacy, and international aid.

• Geopolitical: Relating to the influence of geography on politics, especially in terms of international relations, strategic interests, or power dynamics between nations.

• Humanitarian Parole: A way for people to enter the U.S. temporarily when there’s an emergency or urgent reason—even if they don’t have a regular visa.

• Incentivize: To encourage or motivate someone to take a particular action by offering a reward or benefit.

• Isolationist Immigration Policy: Immigration policies that emphasize minimizing or halting foreign influence or migration into a country, often prioritizing national self-sufficiency and security.

• Legal Limbo: A state of uncertainty where someone’s legal status is unresolved, preventing them from moving forward with resettlement, work, or citizenship.

• Media Framing: The way media presents and structures news stories, shaping how audiences interpret and understand events or groups.

• Narrative: A structured story or explanation, often shaped to convey a particular perspective or agenda, especially in politics or media.

• Nativist: Referring to policies, beliefs, or movements that prioritize the interests of native-born or established inhabitants over those of immigrants; often associated with anti-immigrant sentiment.

• Operation Allies Welcome: A U.S. government plan started in 2021 to help Afghan people who were leaving their country after the Taliban took over.

• Phenomenon: An observable event or trend, often unusual or noteworthy, that invites analysis or explanation.

• Political Instability: A situation where a government or political system is vulnerable to change, unrest, or collapse due to conflict, corruption, or ineffective governance.

• Political Rhetoric: Language and messaging used by politicians or public figures to persuade, mobilize, or influence public opinion, often employing emotional appeals or strategic framing.

• Portrayal: The depiction or representation of something or someone in media, literature, or public discourse.

• Public Opinion: The collective attitudes and beliefs of the general public, often influenced by media, political leaders, and current events.

• Public Perception: How the general public views or understands an issue, group, or event, often shaped by media or social narratives.

• Qualitative Study: Research that focuses on understanding concepts, thoughts, or experiences through methods like interviews, observations, or content analysis.

• Refugee: A person who had to flee their country because of war, danger, or being treated badly, and has been officially allowed to stay somewhere safe.

• Resettlement: When a refugee is moved from a temporary place (like a camp or another country) to a new country that gives them a safe, permanent home.

• Special Immigrant Visa (SIV): A special kind of visa the U.S. gives to people (mostly Afghans and Iraqis) who help the U.S. military or government.

• Turmoil: A state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty, often in a political, social, or economic context.

• Unparalleled: Having no equal; unmatched in quality, impact, or importance.

• Xenophobia: Fear or dislike of people from other countries, often leading to unfair treatment.

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Sources

1. Migration Policy Institute. (n.d.). U.S. Refugee Resettlement by Year and Country of Origin. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/us-refugee-resettlement

2. Serwer, A. (2024, October 5). How Public Opinion on Immigration Flipped. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/immigration-public-opinion-reversal/680196/

3. International Organization for Migration (IOM). (2021). Haiti Crisis Response Plan 2021. Retrieved from https://crisisresponse.iom.int/response/haiti-crisis-response-plan-2021

4. UNICEF. (2021). Massive Earthquake Causes Devastation in Haiti. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/massive-earthquake-devastation-haiti

5. Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2021, September 24). Haitians Flee a Collapsing State. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitians-flee-collapse

6. Pew Research Center. (2021, November 9). What’s Happening at the U.S.-Mexico Border in 7 Charts. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/09/whats-happening-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-in-7-charts/

7. USA for UNHCR. (n.d.). Afghanistan Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/afghanistan/

8. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (n.d.). Operation Allies Welcome. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.gov/archive/operation-allies-welcome

9. Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2022, August 9). Afghan Immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/afghan-immigrants-united-states-2022

10. Davis, C. S., & Gillespie, M. (2024). The Visual Framing of Afghan Refugees in U.S. Media Coverage During the Taliban Takeover. Visual Communication Quarterly, 31(2). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15551393.2024.2339358

11. Urban Institute. (2024, March). Examining Afghan Evacuees’ Resettlement and Legal Pathways. Retrieved from https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/Examining%20Afghan%20Evacuees%E2%80%99%20Resettlement.pdf

12. Human Rights Watch. (2022, March 24). Haitians Being Returned to a Country in Chaos. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/24/haitians-being-returned-country-chaos

13. Pierre-Louis, F. (2022). The Racialized and Gendered Politics of Haitian Migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(1). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2117686

14. Rosenberg, M. (2024, September 10). Trump Repeats Debunked Claim About Migrants Killing Pets in Ohio. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/technology/trump-dead-cats-migrants-ohio.html