The political systems of Italy and the United States allow for varying levels of discretion in passing exclusionary immigration policies. These policies have attempted to detain larger numbers of migrants, along with passing integration policies that place a large burden on migrant populations to assimilate in inflammatory political atmospheres. The role of the news media in injecting opinion into the political process, and influencing public opinion, remains an enduring feature of the immigration systems of both countries. Work exploring the role of media, and political structures, in influencing immigration policy is divided in understanding if media influences politics or the reverse. This paper explores how the media unified a largely decentralized Italy to unite against what are seen as foreign migration threats, and how a bipartisan American system creates a healthy debate in regards to immigration policy, that largely circumvents the influence of politicized media.