How Political Elites Frame the Politics of Migration: The U.S. Case

• In Event: Elites, Immigration Policy, and the Politics of Division

Abstract

In its scale and challenge to integration, immigration is transforming politics in advanced democracies. Extant research has studied the stances of voters and political parties on immigration and migrant integration. Yet, we know much less about political elites’ views on these issues, and why they frame them the way they do. Opening the black box of elites’ views is important because their language and policy decisions are fundamental to immigration policy-making and migrants’ everyday experiences. Data that allow systematic analysis of elites’ immigration views is of great importance. This paper uses the results from an original survey experiment among political elites in the US to see how they frame and understand immigration issues. It is drawn from a six country comparative study investigating how the legacies of racial and ethnic hierarchies in Global North societies influence policy attitudes and policy content. The paper examines elites’ immigration and integration attitudes, and the conditions under which they are more likely to change their views.

Authors

• Gerda Hooijer, University College London

• Desmond King, University of Oxford