Experiencia Compartida: The effect of discrimination on Latino attitudes toward illegal immigration

Abstract Increasingly, research is being done on American attitudes toward immigration, particularly illegal immigration. Such research has focused on overall U.S. attitudes, predominantly the positions of Whites and African Americans, leaving a gap in the literature on Latino attitudes. In popular discussions on immigration, especially news accounts of “solidarity” movements, there is an underlying assumption of group congruence among Latinos. Latinos, however, are a diverse population, with varied opinions on political and social issues, including that of immigration. Using data from the 2010 National Survey of Latinos (https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/dataset/2010-national-survey-of-latinos/), this study explores the attitudes of Latinos in the U.S. toward illegal immigration by examining the effects of discrimination on the development of these attitudes. The outcomes of ordered logit (ordinal regression) show that having experienced discrimination increases favorability toward illegal immigration. This suggests that attitudes toward illegal immigration go beyond ethnic solidarity to include perceived shared experiences.