Contemporary American Attitudes toward U.S. Immigration

Abstract

"This article aims to contribute to an understanding of contemporary American attitudes toward immigration.... The paper uses data from a CBS News/New York Times poll conducted in June 1993. Respondents were asked whether they would like to see the level of immigration to the United States increased, decreased or kept the same. We test several hypotheses about factors influencing respondents' attitudes, including the importance of previously unexamined predictors. These new hypotheses relate to views about the health of the U.S. economy, feelings of social and political alienation, and isolationist sentiments concerning international economic issues and foreign relations. One important discovery is the close connection between possessing restrictionist immigration attitudes and having an isolationist perspective along a broader array of international issues."

The Variegated Landscape of Local Immigration Policies in the United States

“…Such findings are confirmed by several other studies (Espenshade and Hempstead, 1996;Fetzer, 2000;Chandler and Tsai, 2001;Barkan, 2003;Pantoja, 2006;Wilkes et al, 2008). Some researchers have attributed this strong relationship to labor market factors, claiming that more educated individuals are less likely to face economic competition from immigrants (Espenshade and Hempstead, 1996). And numerous scholars have further asserted that working-class individuals or those at risk of unemployment will be more likely to oppose immigration, given that they will be competing with low-skilled immigrants in the labor market and wish to preserve their economic self-interest (Kessler, 2001;Scheve and Slaughter, 2001;Mayda, 2006;O'Rourke and Sinnott, 2006).…”

“…For example, in an investigation of the determinants of pro-immigration attitudes in the U.S., Haubert and Fussell (2006) found that holders of advanced university degrees are the most likely to evince positive perceptions of immigrants, whereas individuals without college degrees tend to view immigration unfavorably. Such findings are confirmed by several other studies (Espenshade and Hempstead, 1996;Fetzer, 2000;Chandler and Tsai, 2001;Barkan, 2003;Pantoja, 2006;Wilkes et al, 2008). Some researchers have attributed this strong relationship to labor market factors, claiming that more educated individuals are less likely to face economic competition from immigrants (Espenshade and Hempstead, 1996).…”

“…Similarly, in an analysis of national survey data, Fennelly and Federico (2008) found that the strongest predictors of support for tighter immigration policies/control are negative attitudes toward multiculturalism and perceptions of immigration as an economic and social burden. Similar results are found in studies measuring the relationships between political ideology and attitudes toward immigration, as ideological conservatism and strong nationalistic attachments are consistently related to support for immigration restrictions (Espenshade and Hempstead, 1996;Chandler and Tsai, 2001;Scheve and Slaughter, 2001;Barkan, 2003;Valenty and Sylvia, 2004;Semyonov et al, 2006;Ceobanu and Escandell, 2008). Haubert and Fussell (2006) further reveal that measures of "cosmopolitanism"-which they measure as increased education, having lived abroad, and an ideological rejection of ethnocentrism-are strong predictors of pro-immigration attitudes.…”

Beyond Group-threat: Temporal Dynamics of International Migration and Linkages to Anti-foreigner Sentiment

“…The group-threat thesis has been used to study the relationship between the relative size of the foreign-born population in receiving societies and the prevalence of anti-foreigner sentiment among native-born persons in many national and supranational contexts, including Canada, Europe, Israel, Turkey, and the United States (Citrin and Sides 2006; Dixon and Ergin 2010; Espenshade and Hempstead 1996; Quillian 1995, 1996; Rustenbach 2010; Schneider 2008; Semyonov et al 2002, 2006; Pettigrew et al 2010; Wilkes et al 2008). These studies have sought to show whether and under what conditions the size of the foreign-born population acts as a contextual catalyst that elicits anti-foreigner attitudes among native-born individuals.…”

Immigration and Prosecutorial Discretion

“…Since the 1980s, immigration in the US has become viewed as one of the most important issues facing the country (Espenshade and Hempstead 1996; Hood III and Morris 1998). Despite a hardening of attitudes toward immigrants and extensive research that describes this public opinion shift, there has been limited empirical research on how public opinion influences immigration policy (Hood III and Morris 1998).…”