The Context of Immigrant Reception in the American South

Abstract

Past research has shown the Southern United States to have more conservative immigration attitudes compared to more established immigrant destination states. However, it is unclear whether or not the places that immigrants have arrived share these conservative attitudes and how this impacts the reception of immigrant groups. Analyzing the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, I find that U.S.-born White attitudes toward immigration are less conservative in zip codes where immigrant-origin groups in the South are most likely to live, often by substantial margins. This indicates that immigrant-origin groups in the South are likely to encounter Southern Whites with a more liberal orientation than Southern Whites more generally. The implications for how these attitudes compare to established immigrant destination states and counties are addressed in detail, as are Southern Black attitudes toward immigration. Regardless, on various questions approximating racial experience/understanding, immigrant-origin groups in the South do not report more negative feelings than those in established destinations and report more positive feelings in some cases, although these results could also indicate a lower awareness of racial issues. Overall, these findings point to a context of reception in the South that is likely more positive than past research on Southern immigration attitudes has implied.