Agricultural and Non-Agricultural College Students' Attitudes Towards Undocumented Migration

Abstract

An estimated 4,350,000 immigrants reside in Texas, comprising 20% of the workforce and wielding a spending power of up to $112.8 billion. Negative sentiment towards migrants has created a hostile environment, despite their substantial socio-economic contributions. Efforts to mitigate this sentiment involve youth education, targeting younger generations to reshape perceptions about immigrants and emphasize diversity's significance. This research assesses undergraduates' attitudes toward undocumented migration and compares agricultural (AGNR) and non-agricultural (non-AGNR) students' stances. In this quantitative study, 452 participants completed the 20-item Attitude Toward Illegal Immigration survey, assessing constructs like cost-benefit, free flow, and human rights. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, and multiple regressions were employed to analyze and compare Free flow (Model 1), Cost-Benefits (Model 2), Human Rights (Model 3), and the average attitude towards undocumented migration (Model 4). Results revealed a significant difference in undocumented migration scores. AGNR students slightly leaned against undocumented migration versus non-AGNR peers. Multiple regressions showed gender, ethnicity, and political inclination as significant predictors in both AGNR and non-AGNR models (cost-benefit, free flow, human rights, and undocumented migration). Further research should delve into these predictors' underlying reasons and replicate analyses in other US universities US using different approaches, such as a qualitative design.