Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:41:50.374Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reconsidering Group Interests

Why Black Americans Exhibit More Progressive Attitudes Toward Immigration than Asian Americans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2021

Niambi Carter ,
Janelle Wong  and
Lisette Gallarzo Guerrero
Niambi Carter
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA
Janelle Wong*
Affiliation:
Departments of Government and Politics and American Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, USA
Lisette Gallarzo Guerrero
Affiliation:
Department of Politics and Program in Latinx Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper aims to explore attitudes toward immigration among two non-White groups, Asian Americans and Black Americans. For more than a decade, individuals from Asia have comprised the majority of immigrants entering the United States each year. Today, the majority of the Asian American U.S. population remains foreign-born. Yet using data collected from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey and the 2016 National Asian American Survey—a time period marked by high levels of saliency with regard to immigration issues—we find that Black Americans, the majority of whom are U.S.-born, exhibit even more progressive attitudes towards immigration, both legal and undocumented, than mostly foreign-born Asian Americans. Our research challenges economic and material theories related to immigration attitudes and suggests that political connections to and “linked fate” with other minorities better explain why Black Americans exhibit more progressive attitudes toward immigration than Asian Americans.

Keywords

ImmigrationAsian AmericansBlack AmericansPublic OpinionUndocumentedRacial Attitudes
Type
State of the Art
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , Fall 2022 , pp. 257 - 274
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Hutchins Center for African and African American Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barreto, Matt A., Frasure-Yokley, Lorrie, Hancock, Ange-Marie, Sylvia Manzano, S. Karthick Ramakrishnan, Ramirez, Ricardo, Sanchez, Gabriel, Wong, Janelle (2014). Collaborative Multi-racial Post-election Survey (CMPS), 2008. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2014-08-21. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35163.v1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barreto, Matt A., Frasure-Yokley, Lorrie, Vargas, Edward D., and Wong, Janelle (2018). Best Practices in Collecting Online Data with Asian, Black, Latino, and White Respondents: Evidence from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 6(1): 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2017.1419433CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batalova, Jeanne, Hanna, Mary, and Lavesque, Christopher (2021). Spotlight: Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. Migration Policy Institute, February 11. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states-2020?gclid=CjwKCAjwuvmHBhAxEiwAWAYj-H0u1KH19KmOkndoCM4vUPwfPiTFyAY-Mc4dOVA2Oqn7eF8FSNYpoBoCNfcQAvD_BwE (accessed October 26, 2021).Google Scholar
Borjas, George J., and Freeman, Richard B. (Eds.) (1992). Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borjas, George J., Grogger, Jeffrey, and Hanson, Gordon H. (2006). Immigration and African-American Employment Opportunities: The Response of Wages, Employment, and Incarceration to Labor Supply Shocks. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper Series, September. https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w12518/w12518.pdf (accessed October 26, 2021).Google Scholar
Borjas, George J., Grogger, Jeffrey, and Hanson, Gordon H. (2010). Immigration and the Economic Status of African-American Men. Economica, 77 (2010): 255–281. https://doi.org/doi:10.1111/j.1468-0335.2009.00803.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brader, Ted, Valentino, Nicholas A., Jardina, Ashley E., and Ryan, Timothy J. (2010). The Racial Divide on Immigration Opinion: Why Black People are Less Threatened by Immigrants. APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper.Google Scholar
Brown, Hana, and Jones, Jennifer A. (2015). Rethinking Panethnicity and the Race-Immigration Divide: An Ethnoracialization Model of Group Formation. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 1(1): 181–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Hana E., Jones, Jennifer A., and Becker, Andrea (2018). The Racialization of Latino Immigrants in New Destinations: Criminality, Ascription, and Countermobilization. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(5): 118–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browning, Rufus P., Marshall, Dale Rogers, and Tabb, David H. (2002). Racial Politics in American Cities. New York: Pearson.Google Scholar
Budiman, Abby, and Ruiz, Neil (2021). Key Facts about Asian Origin Groups in the U.S. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-origin-groups-in-the-u-s/ (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Camarota, Steven (2008). Immigration and Black Americans: Assessing the Impact. CIS.Org. https://cis.org/Testimony/Immigration-and-Black-Americans-Assessing-Impact (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Carter, Niambi M., and King-Meadows, Tyson (2019). Perceptual Knots and Black Identity Politics: Linked Fate, American Heritage, and Support for Trump Era Immigration Policy. Societies, 9(1): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc9010011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, Niambi Michele (2019). American While Black: African Americans, Immigration, and the Limits of Citizenship. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Catanzarite, Lisa (2017). Occupational Context and Wage Competition of New Immigrant Latinos with Minorities and Whites. In Shulman, Steven (Ed.) The Impact of Immigration on African Americans, pp.15–170. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Daniel, Lienesch, Rachel, and Jones, Robert (2017). Beyond Economics: Fears of Cultural Displacement Pushed the White Working Class to Trump | PRRI/The Atlantic Report. Washington, DC: PRRI/The Atlantic. https://www.prri.org/research/white-working-class-attitudes-economy-trade-immigration-election-donald-trump/ (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. (1994). Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Darling-Hammond, Sean, Michaels, Eli K., Allen, Amani M., Chae, David H., Thomas, Marilyn D., Nguyen, Thu T., Mujahid, Mahasin M., and Johnson, Rucker C. (2020). After “The China Virus” Went Viral: Racially Charged Coronavirus Coverage and Trends in Bias Against Asian Americans. Health Education & Behavior, 47(6): 870–879.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DelReal, Jose (2016). Trump Woos Women and Minorities by Pitting One Group against Another. Washington Post, August 29. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-woos-women-and-minorities-by-pitting-one-group-against-another/2016/08/29/04a6b3c4-6a30-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc_story.html (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Eady, Gregory, Vaughn, Justin, and Rottinghaus, Brandon (2018). Comparing Trump to the Greatest—and the Most Polarizing—Presidents in U.S. History. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2018/03/20/comparing-trump-to-the-greatest-and-the-most-polarizing-presidents-in-u-s-history/ (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Economist/YouGov (2018). June 2018 Economist/YouGov Poll. Economist. https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/rbrysksiud/econTabReport.pdf (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Fong, Timothy P. (1988). Why Ted Dang Lost: An Analysis of the 1994 Mayoral Race in Oakland, California. Journal of Asian American Studies, 1(2): 153–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamboa, Suzanne (2018). What is Immigration Reform? NBCnews.com https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/smart-facts/what-immigration-reform-n863981 (accessed November 29, 2021).Google Scholar
Gay, Claudine (2006) Seeing Difference: The Effect of Economic Disparity on Black Attitudes toward Latinos. American Journal of Political Science, 50(4): 982–997. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2006.00228.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hainmueller, Jens, and Hopkins, Daniel J. (2014). Public Attitudes toward Immigration. Annual Review of Political Science 17: 225–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hero, Rodney E., and Tolbert, Caroline J. (1996). A Racial/Ethnic Diversity Interpretation of Politics and Policy in the States of the U.S. American Journal of Political Science, 40(3): 851–871. https://doi.org/10.2307/2111798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hua, W., & Junn, J. (2021). Amidst Pandemic and Racial Upheaval: Where Asian Americans Fit. Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 6(1): 16–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Matthew Frye (2001). Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Junn, Jane (2007). From Coolie to Model Minority: U.S. Immigration Policy and the Construction of Racial Identity. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 4(2): 355–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Junn, Jane, and Masuoka, Natalie (2008). Asian American Identity: Shared Racial Status and Political Context. Perspectives on Politics, 6(4): 729–740.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Karen M. (2003). Cracks in the Rainbow: Group Commonality as a Basis for Latino and African-American Political Coalitions. Political Research Quarterly, 56(2): 199–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290305600208CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Claire Jean (1999). The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans. Politics & Society, 27(1): 105–138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329299027001005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Claire Jean (2018). Are Asians the New Blacks?: Affirmative Action, Anti-blackness, and the ‘Sociometry’of Race. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 15(2): 217–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, Janine Young (1999). Are Asians Black?: The Asian-American Civil Rights Agenda and the Contemporary Significance of the Black/White Paradigm. Yale Law Journal, 108(8): 2385–2412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masuoka, Natalie, and Junn, Jane (2013). The Politics of Belonging: Race, Public Opinion, and Immigration. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClain, Paula D., Lyle, Monique L., Carter, Niambi M., DeFrancesco Soto, Victoria M., Lackey, Gerald F., Cotton, Kendra Davenport, Nunnally, Shayla C., Scotto, Thomas J., Grynaviski, Jeffrey D., and Kendrick, J. Alan (2007). Black Americans and Latino Immigrants in a Southern City: Friendly Neighbors or Economic Competitors? Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 4(1): 97–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miao, Hannah (2020). Immigration was a Dominant Issue in the 2016 Election, But Not This Time. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/13/immigration-was-a-dominant-i.html (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Muñoz, Carlos, and Henry, Charles (1986). Rainbow Coalitions in Four Big Cities: San Antonio, Denver, Chicago, and Philadelphia. PS: Political Science & Politics, 19(3): 598–609. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096500018163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munoz, Carlos Jr., and Henry, Charles P. (1990). Coalition Politics in San Antonio and Denver: The Cisneros and Pena Mayoral Campaigns. In Browning, >Rufus P., Marshall, Dale Rogers, and Tabb, David H. (Eds.), Racial Politics in American Cities, pp. 179–190. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Navarro, Mireya (2004). Black People and Latinos Try to Find Balance in Touchy New Math. The New York Times, January 17, N.Y. / Region. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/nyregion/Blackpeople-and-latinos-try-to-find-balance-in-touchy-new-math.html (accessed November 8, 2021).Google Scholar
Omi, Michael, and Winant, Howard (1994). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Passel, Jeffrey and Cohn, D’Vera (2019). Mexicans Decline to Less than Half the U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population for the First Time. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/12/us-unauthorized-immigrant-population-2017/ (accessed November 11, 2021).Google Scholar
Perry, Huey (2003). The Evolution and Impact of Biracial Coalitions and Black Mayors in Birmingham and New Orleans. In Browning, Rufus P., Marshall, Dale Rogers, and Tabb, David H. (Eds.), Racial Politics in American Cities, pp. 179–200. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Porter, Eduardo (2016). Where Were Trump’s Votes? Where the Jobs Weren’t. The New York Times, December 18. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/business/economy/jobseconomy-voters.html (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Phippen, J. Weston (2015). Asians Now Outpace Mexicans in Terms of Undocumented Growth. The Atlantic, January 27. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/asians-now-outpace-mexicans-in-terms-of-undocumented-growth/432603/ (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Saito, Leland T. (1998). Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Sanchez, Gabriel R. (2008). Latino Group Consciousness and Perceptions of Commonality with African Americans. Social Science Quarterly, 89(2): 428–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00540.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanchez, Gabriel R., and Mausoka, Natalie (2010). Brown Utility Heuristic?: The Presence and Contribution Factors of Latino Linked Fate. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(4): 519–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986310383129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramarkrishnan, Karthick, and Shah, Sono (2017). One Out of Every 7 Asian Immigrants Is Undocumented. Data Bits (blog), September 8. http://aapidata.com/blog/asian-undoc-1in7/ (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Shah, Sono, and Wong, Janelle (2019). Asian American Attitudes Toward Undocumented Immigrants and Immigration Policies. CUNY Forum, 7(1): 17–24.Google Scholar
Sonenshein, Raphael J. (1993). Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, Miri (2004). Introduction: Who’s at the Bottom? Examining Claims about Racial Hierarchy. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27(6): 859–877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamir, Christine (2021). Key Findings About Black America. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/25/key-findings-about-black-america/ (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Thornton, Michael C., and Mizuno, Yuko (1999). Economic Well-Being and Black Adult Feelings toward Immigrants and Whites, 1984. Journal of Black Studies, 30(1): 15–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vaca, Nicolas C. (2004). The Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Black People and What it Means for America. Reprint edition. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
Wong, Janelle (2017). This is What Asian Americans Really Think about Undocumented Immigration. Monkey Cage Blog, Washington Post, May 23. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/05/23/this-is-what-asian-americans-really-think-about-undocumented-immigration/?utm_term=.258d180cfe75 (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Wong, Janelle (2018). “Chain-Migration” Created Today’s Asian America. Data Bits (blog), AAPI Data, January 31. http://aapidata.com/blog/chain-migration-created-todays-asian-america/ (accessed November 6, 2021).Google Scholar
Wong, Janelle, Ramakrishnan, S. Karthick, Lee, Taeku, and Junn, Jane (2011). Asian American Political Participation: Emerging Constituents and Their Political Identities. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Wray-Lake, Laura, Wells, Rachel, Alvis, Lauren, Delgado, Sandra, Syvertsen, Amy K., and Metzger, Aaron (2018). Being a Latinx Adolescent Under a Trump Presidency: Analysis of Latinx Youth’s Reactions to Immigration Politics. Children and Youth Services Review, 87: 192–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar