Upon searching for Manuel Monterrosa on Instagram or YouTube, viewers can scroll through several reels, pictures, and videos that show Monterrosa’s journey through the Darien Gap. 35-year-old Manuel Monterrosa is a self-identifiable “migration influencer.” Originally from Venezuela, he now posts content related to migration on social media. Monterrosa explains that he began posting on these platforms during his journey to the United States, only to realize upon coming to the U.S. that documenting his journey on YouTube paid more than any job he could find as an undocumented immigrant.

Now, Monterrosa has 39.3k followers on Instagram and uses his platform to help inform migrants of dangerous scams on TikTok promising refuge in the United States. Influencers like Monteressoa prove the new significance of social media in migration. For many who need to get out of their country quickly, finding information on social media is easy, free, and accessible. Monteressoa acknowledges that despite social media not being as reliable for migrants, depending on social media content for information is a reality.

Director of Strategic Engagement and Outreach at Informed Immigrant Ivette Moratya explains that social media has changed how people take in information and elaborates on the willingness of social media consumers to listen to advice broadcasts. “A lot of people like influencers and lawyers are giving advice a lot of times, especially integration,” she explains. “They run with it as legal advice without realizing that everything that happens comes down to a case-by-case basis.” Informed Immigrant is a research hub that provides information to undocumented immigrants, and it has 40.2k followers on Instagram.

Similarly to Monteressoa, Moratya also stresses the importance of social media in conveying information to migrants. She explains that when Informed Immigrants started working on their social media presence in 2019, they paid particular attention to how their information was presented so that their target audience, undocumented immigrants, could easily understand what was posted.

Social media creator and immigrant advocate Juan Escalante claims he started doing social media advocacy work around 2008. Escalante claims that Twitter and Facebook were the most prominent forms of social media for advocacy and information telling. “I’ve seen it evolve into people using TikTok and these platforms to share their experiences,” Escalante explains. “Social media has come a long way and has given people a platform to share their experiences and personal truths.”

Sharing personal truths, as Escalante describes them, has played a massive role in the social media migration movement. Silky Shah, Executive Director of Detention Watch Network, a nonprofit organization working towards abolishing immigration detention in the United States, claims that social media has enhanced the ability to choose the stories organizations like Detention Watch want to tell. “Social media is great because you’re able to have a bit more control over the messages you want to put out there,” she says. “You can engage with people you might otherwise not have engaged with given there are limitations with traditional media.”

Morayata emphasizes that engagement and collaborations with influencers or specific organizations always have the community in mind. “Many of our followers are either or could be directly impacted,” she explains. “One of the biggest impacts we had on our platform was working with influencers.”

 

Informed Immigrant’s Instagram had just hit 20k followers last year. A year later, collaborations with influencers and reaching out to people individually have doubled the number of followers on Instagram to 40k. As Morayata emphasizes, a huge factor in increasing engagement and followers was using collaborators and working with influences who care about immigration.

 

Escalante also emphasizes that influencers can help distribute a lot of information regarding news, blogs, and advice to a broader audience that can be incredibly influential to the immigrant community. “I think part of the benefit is allowing immigrant rights advocates and other people to educate local communities about things happening,” he explains. Escalante and Morayta claim these platforms can be crucial for viable and trustworthy information. “Twitter was essentially used to find out about local legislation, tuition bills, and how to acquire driver licenses,” Escalante says.

 

For undocumented or documented immigrants having social media outlets to reach out to or connect with can be incredibly helpful. Moryata explains that Informed Immigrants are able to provide information that is verifiable to those that may not have access to a lawyer or a professional to rely on for help. Not only that, but platforms like Informed Immigrant also respond to DMs and questions sent by followers.

Not only is information posted on platforms used to educate individuals and immigrants, but also to shift public policy and opinion. Escalante explains that the influx of social media and influencers has had more significant impacts on legislation, federal, and local policy.

“Digital advocacy has been great for cultivating an audience and has been used to expose policies that the public should care about,” he explains. Specifically, Escalante claims to speak on the role that social media has had in continuously promoting and educating others on the DREAM act and DACA on specific platforms. The DREAM act stands for development, relief, and education for alien minors act and allows undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to legally live and work in the country given specific requirements. DACA stands for deferred action for childhood arrivals and is a U.S. immigration policy that gives undocumented immigrants protection from being deported and a work permit.

Despite being great for promoting information, Morayta elaborates on the presence of misinformation on social media and how Informed Immigrants attempt to best combat cases of misinformation. “We hear a lot about the misinformation, whether through comments, DMs, trends, or other partners or organizations,” she says. Morayta describes that live streams and collaborations with experts like lawyers or other verified organizations are how an informed immigrant directly addresses the issue.

However, as Monterresa explains, some issues about misinformation can be more consequential. Monterrosa talks about TikTok content promoted by gangs that details incredibly dangerous routes. Not only that, but Monterresa emphasizes that social media channels are being used to scam migrants directly. Promises of safe routes to the U.S. end up being scams to steal migrants’ money.

To avoid migrants becoming weary of scams, Morayta emphasizes that posting content is about considering the targeted audience and how it is presented. “We’re really careful about how we present information,” she says. In addition to ensuring that trustworthy information is being promoted, Moratya explains that Informed Immigrants also focus their time on combating misinformation.

Not only for migrants but also for content creators, the changing social media landscape is frightening. Shah emphasizes that social media will only continue to evolve and do less than it is supposed to be doing. Despite speculations that the media will continue to be manipulated in ways that it shouldn’t, Shah claims that front-line journalists will be critical in ensuring that narratives are being properly told and facts stay truthful without manipulation. “The front lines are going to be important in the storytelling, and that’ll most likely happen through social media,” she says.

As someone on the front lines, Monterrosa will be playing a key role in ensuring that the information he promotes is accurate. After his first trip to the United States Monterrosa realized that he could make more money posting his original content, than any job in the United States as an immigrant, hence his continuous effort to promote his content.

Upon reaching out to Monterrosa about his social media platforms, he is incredibly eager to share what he has been working on. Enquiring about an interview, Monterrosa sends a one page document in Spanish marketing some of the services he offers as a content creator. Upon translation, Monterrosa’s document reads explicitly that “to book your exclusive forty-five minute interview, simply contact us to schedule a convenient date and time.”

Shortly after, another line reads explicitly, “The cost of this unique experience is one hundred seventy dollars.”