ABSTRACT
The chapter analyzes the immigration discourse produced by Italian politicians during the pandemic. Through the lens of Critical Discourse Studies, the analysis explores differences and convergences in terms of lexicon and discourse, which allows structuring and developing the articulation of moral panic. The main aim is to understand how discursive practices are intertwined with past patterns about migration and the theme of security. The research moves from the hypothesis by which politicians have constructed their immigration discourse by linking it with the threat of infectious diseases, using dehumanizing metaphors that assign to migrants the role of a health threat to the population. Results show that the moral panic around immigration during COVID-19 was not completely successful: the strategy of identification of the threats by politicians was not limited to migrants as a vehicle for spreading the virus, but it was articulated mainly toward political opponents.
