The Nation of Immigrants: How Gen Z and Millennials Accept and Contest the Metaphor

• In Event: The United States at 250: Neo-Patriotism, Propaganda, and History

Abstract

As the United States marks the 250 anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026, it is important to examine how contemporary Americans understand prevailing narratives about the nation. The country is often described as a “Nation of Immigrants.” Previous research shows that the U.S. public's perceptions of the nation are consequential, particularly in shaping their social and political attitudes. Informed by extensive historical, political science, and sociological literature, this study explores how a ethnoracially diverse group of U.S.-born young adults understand the “Nation of Immigrants” concept and its applicability to the United States. Based on intensive interview data collected in 2023 with a diverse U.S. born sample of 131 Millennial and Gen Z Latino/Hispanic, indigenous, Non-Hispanic White, and multiracial young adults in Arizona, the study explores how U.S. born young adults understand the “Nation of Immigrants” metaphor, its key themes, and variation in their perceptions by ethnoracial identities and other social categories. The findings reveal that young people’s acceptance of the NOI metaphor rely on ideas from three prominent traditions of American identity, particularly Incorporationism, and to a lesser extent, Liberalism and Ethnoculturalism. Importantly, a substantial proportion of Arizona young adults also reject this framing, via the history of settler colonialism in the nation, past and present anti-immigration attitudes, and the difficulties and exploitation that immigrants encounter in the United States. The findings have important social and political implications.

Authors

• Eileen Díaz McConnell, Arizona State University-Tempe

• Nilda Flores-Gonzalez, Arizona State University-Tempe

• Nathan D. Martin, Arizona State University-Tempe