In this book, Sumana Chattopadhyay analyzes the U.S. migrant busing crisis of 2022 as a case study to explore ideas of nativism, identity politics, divisive rhetorics, and the red-blue-purple political divide, and how these divides are reflected in the media coverage of immigration issues.

The U.S. migrant busing phenomenon began in April 2022, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent migrants to Washington, D.C., protesting the Biden administration's plan to end Title 42, a pandemic-era order allowing rapid expulsions of asylum seekers. Soon Arizona and Florida governors Ducey and DeSantis also transported migrants to sanctuary cities without notice to local officials. Migrants, long framed as pawns in political rhetoric, were now physically moved like chess pieces to spotlight immigration before the 2022 midterm elections and challenge Biden's record. This book examines coverage of the busing crisis in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and local news from Illinois, Florida, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin. Findings reveal differences across outlets in blue, red, and purple states. Central to the discussion is the weaponization and 'pawnification' of migrants – treating people as disposable pieces in political conflict – which raises significant ethical concerns.

Ultimately, Chattopadhyay foregrounds the real human beings who have become props in a game of political maneuvering to explore the effects of this media coverage - on both national and local levels - and to illuminate the forces and long-term implications at play in this dynamic.