What Increases Public Support for Immigration? Results from a New Experiment

This article reports the results of an experiment measuring the impact of different messages on support for immigration. Researchers divided subjects into three groups, and had each group read a different newspaper clipping. When asked their opinion later, subjects who read an article emphasizing the history of immigrants adopting American customs and culture were significantly more likely to favor an increase in immigration compared to subjects who read an article emphasizing growing diversity and portraying diversity as an American strength. The “assimilation primed” subjects were also more likely to favor an increase in immigration compared to a control group who read an article about gardening. Researchers concluded that convincing people that immigration will not change the American way of life might increase their comfort with increasing immigration. This experiment comports with a growing body of work showing that messages emphasizing commonality between natives and immigrants may be more effective than those arguing the economic value of immigrants or of diversity in general. (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Associates)

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