Partisanship, Ideology, and the Border

• In Event: Understanding the Contours of Partisanship

Abstract

This paper explores several questions related to changing immigration policy in the United States, especially the aftermath of the 2018 "zero-tolerance" policy which required separating families at the border. Given that this policy deals with both children and asylum seekers, two groups generally framed in kinder terms than other types of immigrants, it lead to the question of if there is a different sort of profile of a person that supports this policy rather than immigration restriction in general. Is support for this policy based on partisanship or a general preference for restrictionist policies?

Using a MTurk survey, this paper seeks to answer that question, as well as several others related to this policy, including blame and public knowledge of the issue.

Authors

• Pete Mohanty, Stanford University

• Rachel Navarre, Bridgewater State University

• Melinda Rae Tarsi, Bridgewater State University