Expressive Functions of Immigration Law: Do Immigration Laws Shape Our Attitudes toward Latinos?

• In Event: 469 - Section on International Migration Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Immigration, Public Opinion, and Discrimination

Abstract

The idea that laws can shape and mold attitudes, values, and social norms—what scholars refer to as the symbolic or expressive function of laws—is commonplace. Do immigration laws have such an expressive function? I address this question by examining whether and to what extent exposure to anti- and pro-immigration laws enacted at the state level might affect people’s implicit and explicit attitudes toward Latinos in a randomized lab experiment. My analysis shows that both anti- and pro-immigration laws increase people’s implicit biases against Latinos. Anti-immigration laws also induce negative explicit attitudes toward Latinos, as evidenced by perceptions of greater social distance from Latinos, and the ratings of Latinos as unintelligent and law-breaking. In contrast, pro-immigration laws have more limited—though similarly negative—effects on explicit attitudes, as evidenced by perceptions of greater social distance from Latinos and the ratings of Latinos as law-breaking. These findings advance our understanding of the relationship between laws, attitudes, and social norms. More broadly, this study opens up critical inquiries about the potential for laws that target minority groups to foster biases against those groups, even if the law’s aim is to protect and to prohibit discrimination against members of those groups.

Author

• Emily Ryo, University of Southern California