This counter-intuitive book shows that these accounts miss the mark. First, almost all Americans hold a mix of ""pro-"" and ""anti-immigrant"" opinions. Their views are pragmatic and flexible rather than dead-set. Second, opinions about immigration are more powerfully influenced by liberal values and concerns about the well-being of American society as a whole than by identity politics. Third, the assimilation Americans demand from immigrants matches patterns of integration that Hispanic and Asian immigrants overwhelmingly follow. Finally, American attitudes toward immigrants are ""exceptional"" for their openness and respect for cultural pluralism.
In Citrin, Levy, and Wright's view, long-elusive comprehensive immigration reform can win in the court of public opinion - but only if leaders heed their constituents rather than the polarized activists who claim to speak on their behalf. This expert analysis rethinks the role of public opinion in immigration matters: its insights will be welcomed by all interested in immigration debates and public policy.
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Richard Alba, Graduate Center, CUNY
"Immigration in the Court of Public Opinion is a timely reassessment of Americans' attitudes about immigration policy, immigrants themselves, and their effects on many aspects of American society. Citrin and his collaborators provide us with the most accessible, sophisticated, current, and analytically informed data available. It will immediately become the standard reference in the field, informing social scientists, policymakers, media commentators, and private citizens and illuminating countless public debates on one of the most important issues of our time. I have already used it in my own work on immigration policy."
Peter H. Schuck, Yale and NYU Law Schools
"Looking beyond the loud certainties of immigration policy debates, this book explores an alternate reality. With a deep analysis of extensive survey findings, Citrin, Levy, and Wright offer an authoritative account of public opinion on immigration across many dimensions. Most Americans, they find, express nuance, conflict, and uncertainty even as they embrace pluralism and generosity. An excellent distillation."
Roberto Suro, University of Southern California