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Legislation, Linguistics, and Location: Exploring Attitudes on Unauthorized Immigration

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  • David A. Caicedo

    (Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York)

  • Vivienne Badaan

    (New York University)

Abstract

Contemporary discourse on domestic immigration policy varies widely based on political affiliation, linguistics, and regional differences. This experimental study aimed to concurrently investigate three social psychological bases of attitudes toward unauthorized immigrants in the USA: political ideology, social labels, and social context. Participants were 744 adults, recruited from “New York Community College” (“NYCC”/urban) and “New Jersey Community College” (“NJCC”/suburban), who were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: “illegal” vs. “undocumented.” Participants completed a scale measuring their attitudes toward unauthorized immigrants with the embedded label manipulation, followed by the General System Justification scale, and culminating with demographic items. Results demonstrated that whereas social context and political ideology both contributed significantly to the regression model, the social labels did not. Both high system justification and political conservatism predicted negative attitudes, but the latter effect was stronger for suburban students. Post hoc analyses revealed a significant difference between suburban and urban students in the frequency of the social labels “illegal” and “undocumented” heard and seen among family members, friends, and the media. Implications are discussed with a focus on system justification as an explanatory theory for immigration attitudes, as well as contextual effects for it.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Caicedo & Vivienne Badaan, 2021. "Legislation, Linguistics, and Location: Exploring Attitudes on Unauthorized Immigration," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 967-985, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:22:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s12134-020-00780-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-020-00780-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kay, Aaron C. & Jost, John T., 2003. "Complementary Justice: Effects of "Poor But Happy" and "Poor But Honest" Stereotype Exemplars on System Justification and Implicit Activation of the Justice Motive," Research Papers 1753r, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    2. Zoltan Hajnal & Michael U. Rivera, 2014. "Immigration, Latinos, and White Partisan Politics: The New Democratic Defection," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 58(4), pages 773-789, October.
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