Primed for Backlash: Among Whom Does Demographic Change Provoke Anti-Immigration Attitudes?

Abstract

Past research has explored which factors are important in understanding immigration attitudes, incorporating economic, cultural, and political components, among others. Simultaneously, a literature linking local demographic context to immigration attitudes has developed, in part to identify under what conditions demographic change might increase immigration Backlash. I combine these literatures by examining what characteristics and/or contexts for U.S.-born Whites predict Backlash to demographic change. I find evidence that county-level Hispanic growth predicts a preference for reducing immigration among three groups: those without a four-year degree, those identifying as political Independents, and those reporting a decrease in household income. These results provide a framework for understanding how immigration policy attitudes may evolve for different groups in the context of demographic change.