SPIN·DETECTOR

How the coverage framed it

The roughly six-point spread in framing reflects starkly different choices about whose experience anchors the story. At the left end, *The Guardian* centers individuals harmed or threatened by enforcement: one headline describes "a US citizen" who "alleges immigration agent shot her from behind," positioning a civilian as victim of state force, while another frames protesters as targets of government surveillance via a "whistleblower" account. Both constructions invite reader sympathy toward those subjected to ICE activity. At the right end, the *New York Post* inverts that victim framing entirely, leading with "illegal aliens wanted by ICE identified as suspects in off-duty NYPD cop slashing attack" — the term "illegal aliens" is right-coded language, and the narrative centers a law-enforcement officer harmed by undocumented individuals. The *Houston Chronicle* occupies neutral ground, reporting a municipal grant decision in purely procedural terms with no emotionally loaded language. The divergence illustrates how word choice and the selection of whose harm is foregrounded can shape readers' baseline assumptions about enforcement.