Anti-immigrant Research Articles

Critical reflection and action in response to an anti-immigration context: What we can learn from migrant young adults from Latin America.

Migrant youth from Latin America who arrive in the United States are faced with a social and political context that dehumanizes migrants of color. These anti-immigrant sentiments become reflected in federal and state policies that deny migrants rights to freedom and safety. The present paper examined how the U.S. immigration context informed migrant young adults' structural analysis of immigration policies and rhetoric (critical reflection) and actions to challenge exclusionary immigration-related policies and rhetoric (critical action). We further examined facilitators and barriers to action. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with migrant young adults from Latin America living in Virginia (N = 30; M = 20.93; SD = 2.03; 53% female). We employed constructivist grounded theory strategies to analyze the data. Findings showed that migrant young adults offered a range of structural and individual-level attributions for unjust immigration policies. For some migrant young adults, their critical reflection informed decisions to engage in critical actions. Yet, many migrant young adults also noted constraints that impeded their engagement. By more thoroughly understanding migrant young adults' critical reflection and factors that may facilitate or impede action, researchers and practitioners may be better positioned to support migrant young adults who seek to dismantle systems of oppression.

The Documentation Status Continuum and the Impact of Categories on Healthcare Stratification

Public discourse on immigration and social services access has been contentious in immigrant-receiving countries. Scholars have examined immigrants’ marginalization as a form of civic stratification, where boundaries based on documentation status affect immigrants’ experiences and benefits granted by the state. This scholarship lacks a framework outlining existing documentation status categories and does not fully answer three research questions I pose in this article: (1) what is the alignment of documentation status categories relative to each other, (2) how does policy (re)configure those categories over time, and (3) how have documentation status categories shaped access to health care in the United States? This article answers those questions and argues that the documentation status continuum (DSC) framework fills these gaps. In the DSC, undocumented immigrants are at one end and citizens are at the other, with many documentation statuses in between. Public policy creates these statuses and generates stratification through allocating benefits based on one’s DSC position. Policy also shapes movement along the continuum, which shapes benefits eligibility. Using the 2006 Massachusetts Health Reform and national 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reform as policy examples and interviews conducted with 207 immigrants, healthcare professionals, and immigrant organization employees in Boston, this article demonstrates how healthcare access is stratified along the DSC between citizens and noncitizens. This has implications for various outcomes that social scientists examine amid increasing anti-immigrant sentiment in the US and beyond.

The Response to Asymmetrical Violence in Black Space

Oakland, California has been identified as a Black city since the early days of the Great Migration. Migrants from the South brought their labor, families, and most importantly, a vision for the future of Black communities. Alongside the influx of domestic Black folks moving into the city has been a steady stream of Black immigrants who help to push the boundaries for how Blackness is understood in Oakland. Increased anti-immigrant sentiments have added to this violence, putting undocumented immigrants at risk of suffering the abuses of landlords. In this article, I uplift the voices of Oakland community members that demonstrate the tragedies of dispossession as they tell their own geographic stories. These collective stories demonstrate the markers of dispossession on different levels as the sociospatial dynamics of Oakland are being (re)imagined. Oakland has now become one more example of the threat to Black spaces in the U.S. and gives us a roadmap for how these spaces will be reimagined under asymmetrical violence.

Making Migrants Deportable: The Internalization of Restrictive Policies Through Transferred Responsibility and Borrowed Legitimacy

Abstract This paper explores the connection between social policy and immigration law as one feature of migration governance to advance internal bordering and border internalization. It argues that responsibility for migration governance is being transferred: from immigration authorities and the broader field of immigration policy to social services and the broader field of social policy. This allows for the outsourcing of immigration control to “new” sectors of society. In a second step, immigration authorities borrow legitimacy from social services and related actors involved in assessing non-citizens, thus turning reports from one policy field to the service of assessments made in another. This work draws on empirical data collected from Swiss immigration authorities (Migrationsdienste) and social services (Sozialdienste) whose work concerns migrants in receipt of social assistance. In Switzerland, powerful stereotypes shape the legal residency rights of non-citizens by portraying them as undeserving of welfare, reinforcing a strict citizen vs. non-citizen divide. As I argue, the connections between “workfarist” policies that characterize the Swiss welfare state and restrictive immigration policies legitimate the withdrawal of residence rights from non-citizens rendered destitute. The transfer of responsibility and borrowing of legitimacy facilitated by this entwinement of social policy and immigration law entrench processes of internal bordering. With formerly less related policy fields now increasingly charged with immigration-related decision making, the existing bordering practices of immigration authorities are expanded to encompass new actors. This close entwinement of different policy fields is characteristic of how contemporary societies police and control non-citizens.

A tale of two people: openness to diversity and immigration policy preference

ABSTRACT This study explores the effect of immigrant population size and openness to diversity (receptivity to racial, ethnic, and religious identities) on immigration policy preferences. We look at the influence of openness to diversity and the intervening effect of immigrant population size across 42 countries in the Global North and South. The results from mixed-effect regression analyses suggest that openness to diversity has a positive relationship with favorable immigration policy preferences. The more salient are individual categories (associated with openness to diversity), the less social categories, eliciting group threat, influence anti-immigrant sentiments. The results also suggest that an interaction between immigrant population size and openness to diversity influences immigration policy preferences. A greater immigrant population size negatively influences attitudes toward immigration for those with lower levels of openness to diversity, whereas it has negligible impacts on attitudes toward immigration for those with higher levels of openness to diversity.

Last place aversion, labour market competition or welfare state model? Explaining anti-immigrant sentiment in Hungary with a conjoint experiment

ABSTRACT Much ink has been spilled to explain how the relative socio-economic position of natives and immigrants might shape anti-immigrant sentiment. However, little effort has been made to pit three competing theories: last place aversion, labour market competition and the welfare state model directly against each other, despite their often-times contradicting implications. This paper tests these alternative theories in Hungary, where the 2015 migration crisis has catapulted a previously hardly salient topic into the forefront of issues on the political agenda. Utilizing a choice-based conjoint experiment, administered on a nationally representative sample of voting-age Hungarians in Spring 2021, aforementioned hypotheses are tested in a country known for its hardline stance on migration. Results suggest fears related to welfare exploits might be the most plausible explanation for widespread anti-immigrant sentiment in the Hungarian public, as the less education fictive refugee profiles showcased, the less likely respondents were to admit them. Contrarily, no evidence corroborating worries associated with labour market competition or last place aversion was found. Future research could explore whether skills mismatch makes natives less wary of labour market competition, as well as the extent to which the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine altered Hungarians' attitudes.

The Socialist Party of America and the ‘yellow peril’ (1904–1908)

ABSTRACT Since 1890, the growth of Eastern nations’ power was perceived as an imminent threat by broad sectors of American society, articulated under the concept of the ‘yellow peril’. This paper examines the positions of the Socialist Party of America (SPA) on this notion between 1904 and 1908, a period marked by increasing diplomatic tensions between Japan and the United States. Through an analysis of the SPA press and the minutes of its conventions, the study identifies how the party comprehensively addressed the three main meanings of this concept: economic competition from Asian immigrants, the industrialization of the East, and the rise of Japan as an imperialist power. These aspects were of great importance for shaping the SPA’s positions on imperialism, colonial policy, and inter-imperialist war. On the one hand, the anti-immigration sentiment within the SPA undermined any potential for bonds of friendship and internationalism with Japan and also affected its critique of colonial policy, which focused on the competition from native workers. On the other hand, Japan’s modernization and rise as an imperialist power rendered imperialism no longer a viable strategy for American capitalists, ultimately contributing to the collapse of capitalism due to its failure to find new markets.

Preparing for climate migration and integration: a policy and research agenda

ABSTRACT In this paper I review recent research on climate migration, including estimates of the numbers of future migrants owing to climate change. I introduce a typology of climate migration including strategic, disaster, managed relocation and trapped populations. I draw on migration theory and findings on the integration of immigrants and refugees to suggest that a good way to manage and prepare for climate migration is for rich countries to allocate extra visas to poorer countries that are suffering the effects of climate migration, partly as reparations for climate injustice. These visas will allow strategic migrants to seed further migration by tying the countries together through social networks, and eventually will provide a co-ethnic community for disaster migrants and relocated communities. I also review research on refugees to suggest questions for researchers to answer on how best to integrate disaster migrants going forward. Finally, I review the growing intersection of climate denialism and anti-immigrant sentiment among right-wing movements. I suggest that planning for the successful integration of large numbers of migrants fleeing climate change should be a top priority not least because this success will help to preserve the social trust that is necessary for successful climate mitigation efforts.

Bloodline gateways: Italian ancestral citizenship as a resource to bypass European migration policies

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on how people use legal bordering processes enforced through citizenship laws to their advantage and argues that citizenship provisions may function as immigration regulation, according to the way people use them. Building on an ethnographic fieldwork carried out with binational Brazilians, Chileans and Argentinians of Italian descent, it shows how they use the Italian passport they can inherit from their ancestors through the right of blood to migrate to Europe as citizens. It observes that young South American Italians engage in new forms of migration which seem to counter the current restrictive European immigration policies and that they contribute to the recent resumption of Italian migration in the EU. This article shows that Italy’s entangled histories of citizenship, emigration and colonization explain why the descendants of Italian emigrants are so privileged by Italian legislation in terms of citizenship and mobility. It also argues that Italian provisions on ancestral citizenship acquisition contribute to a stratified migration regime based on ancestry, race and class, linking Latin America, Italy and Europe while tackling the paradoxes that South American Italians face upon ‘return’ to Italy.

“Not one of us”: anti-immigrant sentiment spread to multiple immigrant groups in the wake of Islamic terrorism

Abstract In reaction to terrorism, current research shows that discriminatory attitudes against immigrant populations among native populations sometimes increase. However, it is unclear if native populations respond to threats with a specifically targeted anti-immigrant sentiment or whether there is a general increase in anti-immigrant views that spill over to other minority groups. Furthermore, plausible processes explaining the spread of anti-immigration sentiment to larger immigrant populations are largely underexplored in the research. This article analyzes the impact of terrorist attacks on anti-Muslim sentiment and spillover effects on groups seemingly unrelated to the attacks. Using the coincidental timing of the European Social Survey and the attack on Charlie Hebdo, we investigate the effects of terrorism on anti-immigrant attitudes toward Muslim, Jewish, and Roma minorities. Second, in accordance with symbolic boundary theory, we investigate whether the Charlie Hebdo attack increased discriminatory attitudes toward immigrant characteristics and argue that these spillover effects are partially attributable to such changes. Our findings show that the Charlie Hebdo attack was associated with increased anti-immigrant sentiment toward all three groups to a comparable degree and that these effects are partially explained by intensified racial and religious boundaries. Furthermore, we find that the association between the attack and increases in racial and religious boundaries, as well as discriminatory attitudes toward all studied minorities, is stronger in countries with historically low immigration reception. Our study finds that where discriminatory processes are activated, they are not manifested through precise social categorization but rather using generalized minority characteristics.

Denizenship and democratic equality

ABSTRACT Democracy is assumed to require the equal political inclusion of denizens, as sustained political inequalities between members of society seemingly undermine the democratic ideal of equal freedom. This assumption is prominently expressed by Walzer’s Principle of Political Justice, according to which democratic institutions must attribute equal political rights to denizens in order to sustain their equal protection from domination and the recognition required for free agency. This paper rejects this influential assumption. We argue that denizenship constitutes a social position in which equal freedom can be enjoyed without political inclusion on equal terms to citizens. Many denizens are citizens somewhere else, and enjoy status, rights, and protections in virtue of their external citizenship, which can protect them from domination and provide them with the recognitional basis of self-respect. The cross-border relationships between denizens and their home country, as well as between the host country and the home country, must therefore be considered when evaluating claims to political inclusion. Accepting the democratic legitimacy of the partial political inclusion of denizens allows us to focus on the most pressing political claims, such as those of refugees and stateless persons. Partial inclusion schemes can also make less restrictive immigration policies more rational and desirable for citizens.

Mothers Experiencing Legal and Financial Precarity Post-Migration: Solidarity Practices, Everyday Resistance and the Role of Social Infrastructure

Restrictive immigration policies across Europe intersect with socio-economic structures, increasing the risks of precarity, exploitation and abuse faced by many women and mothers. This can be understood as ‘structural’ or ‘slow’ violence, and in the UK particularly affects racially minoritised mothers with insecure immigration statuses experiencing financial hardship. Drawing on my ethnographic research in London, UK, this article explores how precariously positioned mothers engage in solidarity practices which are infused with everyday resistance, and how social infrastructure shapes these practices. I identify six solidarity practices: reaching out and providing recognition; sharing material and financial resources; sharing information and practical help; informal hosting; providing advice and advocacy; and sharing emotional support. The article shows how solidarity practices are entwined with everyday resistance, and highlights how social infrastructure can facilitate mobilisation of intersecting identities, supporting such solidarity practices. It also calls attention to the tensions that can emerge within everyday solidarity practices.

Economic Stances of Ultranationalist Parties in Western Europe

The increasing electoral successes of ultranationalist parties in Western Europe have generated an immense number of terms to describe them with radical right, extreme right and populism being the most common denominations. In view of this scenario, the objective of this paper is to carry out a systematic analysis of the ideology of these parties in Western Europe and to compare them with those existing in Latin America. For this purpose, the Chapel Hill Expert Survey database has been used to describe these parties in nine socioeconomic areas. The main results found are that there is a noticeable difference depending on whether these parties are located on one side, or the opposite, of the Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, in Western Europe, they are far less liberal in the economic field than other ideological families. Particularly notorious is the radical position of ultranationalism defending protectionist positions in the face of global free trade. However, the differential aspect of ultranationalism compared to the rest of the ideological families is its postulate in favor of deeply restrictive immigration policies, being also the position that generates more consensus among the different parties united in this ideological family in Western Europe.

A Theoretical Analysis on the 2016 Presidential Results: It’s Impact on Immigrant Perceptions of Law Enforcement Across Generations

The rise of Trump ignited smoldering xenophobia throughout the U.S. As a result of Trump’s election, punitive and restrictive immigration policies were passed and have not been lifted. Consequently, punitive enforcement of immigrant populations has increased nationwide specifically in Texas. For instance, a significant increase in deportation, arrest, and detainment of immigrants, the reduction of humanitarian protection, random punitive immigration enforcement, and fewer opportunities for legal immigration have occurred since Trump’s presidency. Although research has observed that first-generation immigrants are more trustful and have more positive perceptions of police when compared to later generations, previous research has observed various factors influence immigrant perceptions of police. Investigation into immigrant perceptions of police during Trump’s first year in office, combined with the analysis of unexplored constructs (e.g., “the talk”) would improve our understanding of factors influencing perceptions across generations. The current study will investigate: (1) Does immigrant generation status influence fear of police during Trump’s first year in office; (2) Is the fear of police mediated through receiving “the talk”? Mediation analysis will be conducted to investigate the research questions.

The aggregate and distributional effects of immigration restrictions: The 1920s Quota Acts and the Great Black Migration

The aggregate and distributional effects of immigration restrictions: The 1920s Quota Acts and the Great Black Migration

Changing the pace of the melting pot: The effects of immigration restrictions on immigrant assimilation

This paper investigates the effects of restrictive immigration policies enacted in the US in 1921 and 1924 to explore the effects of immigration restrictions on recent immigrants using full-count US Census data and variation across national origins in the exclusionary policies. Immigrants more affected by the quotas were more likely to become naturalized citizens. Immigrants from countries that subsequently had migration reduced by the Acts were also more likely to marry someone born in the United States. The evidence in this paper, taken together, shows that the Immigrant Exclusion Act hastened the assimilation of already-landed immigrant men and impacted their short and long-run family outcomes.

The Hierarchy of Victimhood: Prisons and States’ Responsibility to Protect Every Victim of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

In 2022, the prison service in England and Wales developed state-of-the-art guidance for prisons to enable them to better identify and support modern slavery survivors. This positive development in the UK’s anti-slavery regime is overshadowed by its increasingly restrictive immigration legislation, which leaves those without lawful residence and victims involved in criminal offences excluded from the support and assistance otherwise guaranteed by domestic and international law. This article presents an overview of the UK’s legal obligations towards survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking, explains how the prison service in England and Wales has sought to implement them, and discusses key challenges facing prisons in doing so. These efforts are contrasted with an increasingly hostile environment for certain categories of survivors, which effectively creates a “hierarchy of victimhood”, expressly prohibited by international law. In an environment where being a victim of a crime and human rights violation both matter less than the State’s interest in immigration and crime control, prisons will struggle to deliver on their commitment and international obligation to protect those inmates who have been or are at risk of being exploited.

Racialized Representations of Migrants by the Local Police in Chile

In this article, we explore the racialized construction of migrants by the Carabineros, the Chilean national police. Based on a qualitative case study, we show that the representations of Latin American and Caribbean migrants by members of this institution are racialized and mostly framed on ideas of a historically constructed superiority. Drawing on interviews with police personnel from different units in Santiago, Chile, we show how the historical state racist policies on migration and systemic institutional racism are embedded in the Carabineros’ discourse, who represent the state and law in their everyday interactions with migrants. Historically, this institution continues to be a strongly hierarchical and militarized police force, whose mission has been to defend territorial integrity and the moral, socio-historical, and cultural national identity, as well as to uphold the most important values of the so-called Chilenidad. We argue that the Chilean police frame their racialized representations of Latin American and Caribbean migrants within systemic institutional racism and socio-historical tropes, particularly from racialized, class, and moral perspectives that reproduce anti-immigrant sentiments and illustrate the ways in which migrants have been historically criminalized and treated in everyday life.

Reshaping the European Union Landscape: The Rise of Far-Right Movements and Their Potential Impact on Middle East Policy

The rise of far-right parties within the European Union has raised significant concerns about potential shifts in EU foreign policy, particularly with regard to the Middle East. This development challenges the core values of the EU and has the potential to markedly reshape its diplomatic strategies, aid distribution, and regional engagement. This analysis examines key areas of Middle East policy likely to be influenced by the growing presence of far-right parties in EU institutions, including immigration and refugee policies, the EU's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, relations with Iran, and involvement in peace processes in the region. Additionally, the study emphasizes potential shifts in power dynamics within EU decision-making bodies concerning Middle East policy, underscoring the urgency of the issue. The hypotheses suggest that the increased influence of far-right parties may result in more restrictive immigration policies, stronger pro-Israel positions, a more confrontational approach towards Iran, diminished EU involvement in Middle East peace initiatives, and a reduction in regional financial aid. The research also explores the likelihood of greater bilateral engagement between individual EU member states and Middle Eastern countries, which could weaken the EU's common foreign policy and lead to a more fragmented regional strategy. This study highlights the critical importance of understanding the complexities of this phenomenon, as the mainstreaming of far-right ideologies has profound implications for European politics and the EU’s role in the Middle East. Addressing these challenges is essential for safeguarding the EU’s foundational values and maintaining its ability to navigate intricate geopolitical landscapes.

Waves of Discrimination and Racism against Afghan Immigrants in Iran: Historical Patterns, Social Dynamics, and Human Rights Implications

Iran has historically been a host country for Afghan immigrants due to shared cultural, linguistic, and religious ties and geographical proximity. Migration, a fundamental aspect of human social life, can be driven by various factors, including persecution and the pursuit of better opportunities. However, this migration has sometimes led to nationalist sentiments and xenophobia in the host country, defined as attitudes, prejudices, and behaviors towards individuals perceived as foreign, often resulting in racist behaviors and human rights violations. In recent years, particularly following the Iranian elections in 2024, there has been a noticeable increase in anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia towards Afghan immigrants. This trend is alarming as it forecasts potential social divisions between Iranians and Afghan immigrants. The lack of clear media guidelines and specific laws has contributed to the growth of anti-immigrant expressions and racism within Iranian society, media, social networks, and culture. The situation has escalated with the spread of stereotypes and discriminatory information against immigrants on social networks, leading to prejudiced attitudes throughout Iran. This has highlighted a perceived superiority of Iranian citizens over minority groups, a sentiment that has been reinforced in the social and political structure. Many Iranian politicians and parliament members have openly expressed opposing views on immigration, citing national security concerns, without making efforts to enact laws that would uphold human dignity and properly manage immigration issues. Policies against Afghan immigrants, including those born and raised in Iran across multiple generations, have been criticized for being inhumane. Economic challenges in the country are often unjustly attributed to Afghan immigrants, with claims that they are the root cause of inflation, housing shortages, and other social issues. This narrative is supported by government propaganda and racist individuals through social media and other platforms, exacerbating the situation. The discrimination against Afghan immigrants has led to various forms of violence and insults, with many being denied fundamental rights such as purchasing food or renting homes. They are often segregated into specific areas for their basic needs, alienating them from society. This situation underscores the urgent need for comprehensive policies and societal change to address the discrimination and racism faced by Afghan immigrants in Iran, ensuring their rights and dignity are protected. Waves of Discrimination and Racism against Afghan Immigrants in Iran