Immigration and the American Ethos

Description

What do Americans want from immigration policy and why? In the rise of a polarized and acrimonious immigration debate, leading accounts see racial anxieties and disputes over the meaning of American nationhood coming to a head. The resurgence of parochial identities has breathed new life into old worries about the vulnerability of the American Creed. This book tells a different story, one in which creedal values remain hard at work in shaping ordinary Americans' judgements about immigration. Levy and Wright show that perceptions of civic fairness - based on multiple, often competing values deeply rooted in the country's political culture - are the dominant guideposts by which most Americans navigate immigration controversies most of the time and explain why so many Americans simultaneously hold a mix of pro-immigrant and anti-immigrant positions. The authors test the relevance and force of the theory over time and across issue domains.

Morris Levy is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern California. Matthew Wright is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia.

'In recent years, immigration has become a front-burner political issue in the US. A growing body of research argues that Americans' attitudes about immigration are fundamentally about their views on different ethnic and racial groups, but in this far-reaching and illuminating book, Levy and Wright provide a sweeping challenge to group-oriented accounts of public opinion on immigration and demonstrate convincingly that values play a central role. This book methodically builds a timely, compelling alternative to group-centered accounts of attitudes, one that will reshape how scholars and citizens alike think about immigration and public opinion in general.' Daniel J. Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania 'In this theoretically subtle and carefully crafted empirical work, Levy and Wright advance a more complete analysis of Americans' immigration attitudes than is common in scholarship and public discourse. They make important, provocative, even controversial, claims: 'ideas' or ideals often trump 'interests' in attitudes toward immigrants and 'civic fairness' is as (or more) important than group-centrism. This is a significant contribution that deeply informs and challenges our understanding of enduring issues in American politics.' Rodney E. Hero, Arizona State University 'This book provides crucial new evidence that helps explain Americans' complex opinions on immigration.' John Sides, Vanderbilt University 'The book is extensively researched and the authors' contentions are well founded ...' R. F. Zeidel, Choice 'Immigration and the American Ethos is a must-read.' Tom K. Wong, American Politics