The Role of Shared Political Ideology on Immigrant Preferences

• In Event: Exploring Prejudice and Ideology in Refugee Policy

Abstract

To what extent does a shared political ideology shape attitudes toward immigrants? Past scholarship has demonstrated that Americans prefer highly skilled immigrants unlikely to clash culturally. Immigrants' political beliefs, however, have been ignored. I use a conjoint survey experiment to investigate the impact of shared political beliefs on immigration preferences. It asks respondents to put themselves in the shoes of an immigration officer tasked with deciding which immigrants are worthy of admission into the country. The results show a premium for immigrants who shared respondents' political ideology. At times, shared political beliefs even superseded objective measures of aptitude, such as English fluency or profession. Rather than being perceived as outsiders, like-mindedness allows immigrants to be seen as 'one of us.' Altogether, this paper extends beyond current immigration debates by showing that ideological agreement can shape immigration preferences.

Author

• Cesar Daniel Vargas Nunez, Claremont McKenna College