Immigrant voting beliefs sway partisan immigration views
Telling Americans that immigrants support Trump shifts Republican and Democratic views on immigration.
Why it matters
- Perceptions of immigrants' political leanings influence support for immigration.
- Partisan dynamics play a key role in shaping immigration attitudes.
By the numbers
- Survey of 3,000 American adults.
- 80% of control group assumed immigrants support Democrats.
- Republican support for immigration increased from 3.0 to 4.3 (10-point scale) when told immigrants favor Trump.
The big picture
- Partisan beliefs about immigrants' political preferences can override traditional divides on immigration.
- Effects were consistent across both immigrant groups studied (Venezuela and Vietnam).
What they're saying
- Commenters criticize lack of principles in immigration attitudes.
- Some note the study's lack of context about democratic deficits.
Caveats
- Study focused only on legal immigration and two countries.
- Did not test a scenario where immigrants were described as supporting Democrats.
What’s next
- Future research could explore effects on unauthorized immigration or border enforcement.
- Studies could investigate reactions to immigrants supporting Democrats.