More Royalist Than the King? Immigration Policy Attitudes Among Naturalized Citizens

Social psychological research has analyzed immigration attitudes mostly from the perspective of natives without an immigrant background. Nevertheless, an increasing number of migrants obtain national citizenship and take a stance towards immigration policies. By studying immigration policy attitudes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political psychology 2020-06, Vol.41 (3), p.607-625
Main Authors: Politi, Emanuele, Chipeaux, Marion, Lorenzi‐Cioldi, Fabio, Staerklé, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Acculturation
acculturation orientations
Attitudes
Belonging
Citizens
Citizenship
citizenship acquisition
Cultural heritage
Cultural maintenance
Culture
Foreign born citizens
Immigrants
Immigration policy
immigration policy attitudes
Incorporation
Migrants
Minority groups
motivations
Naturalization
Noncitizens
Political attitudes
political incorporation
Power
Psychological research
Social attitudes
Social dynamics
Social systems
Transformation
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Summary:Social psychological research has analyzed immigration attitudes mostly from the perspective of natives without an immigrant background. Nevertheless, an increasing number of migrants obtain national citizenship and take a stance towards immigration policies. By studying immigration policy attitudes reported by naturalized citizens, this article develops a dual‐pathway model of immigrant political incorporation featuring pathways of either absorption or transformation. Based on a unique sample of immigrants who just accomplished the naturalization procedure (N = 566), we investigate participants' preferences for permissive or restrictive immigration policies as a function of their naturalization motives and expectations about how immigrants should acculturate in the receiving society (i.e., acculturation orientations). Our findings provide evidence for both processes of political absorption and transformation. On the one hand, belongingness motives underlying naturalization were connected to orientations towards host culture adoption, which in turn predicted support for restrictive immigration policies. On the other hand, instrumental motives were connected to orientations towards heritage culture maintenance, which in turn predicted support for permissive immigration policies. To conclude, we discuss the social psychological dynamics involved in the transition from national outsiders to national insiders and highlight the effects of naturalization on power relations between national majority and immigrant minority groups.
ISSN:0162-895X
1467-9221
DOI:10.1111/pops.12642