Immigration discourses in the press of the United States of America and Ireland

The article examines the semantic macrostructures of the discourse on immigration in the press of Ireland and the United States of America. It discusses the dominant topics related to immigrants, including immigrants as an enemy and the frightening Other, as a social problem and risk factor, as socially excluded and deviant, and as a threat to the health and well-being of the American and Irish societies. The rhetorical analysis reveals that verbal constructions and rhetorical devices describing immigrants belong to the "alarmist rhetoric" which reproduces social fears about immigrants and immigration.