Do Historically Ethnic Nations Support Immigrant Integration?

• In Event: Naturalization and the Drivers of Naturalization

Abstract

When do native citizens of historically ethnic nations support immigrant integration? Survey-based studies have tended to approach the question indirectly by broadly theorizing support for immigration based on natives’ preference for admitting high skilled foreign workers and applying such theories to host countries with histories of blood-based citizenship laws (jus sanguinis). In contrast, qualitative studies have approached this question more directly and theorized about why democracies adopt inclusive citizenship and/or comprehensive integration policies by focusing on party politics, social movements, or institutions. To date, few if any studies have tested whether natives of countries with restrictive immigration policy legacies can be persuaded to support policies designed to facilitate immigrant integration. Our study addresses this significant gap in the broader literature by drawing on analysis from an original survey experiment that allows respondents to select hypothetical profiles of immigrants for permanent residency and paths to citizenship.

Authors

• Steven Denney, University of Toronto

• Nicholas Alexander Rymal Fraser, University of California Berkeley

• Charles David Crabtree, Dartmouth College