Exclusion from Above: Measuring the Impact of the Trump Presidency on American Attitudes Towards Immigrants
Open Access
- Author:
- D'Amico, Nicole
- Area of Honors:
- Sociology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Daniel Joseph Della Posta, Thesis Supervisor
Stacy Silver, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- immigrant
Trump presidency
attitudes towards immigrants
prejudice
group threat
symbolic threat
nationalism - Abstract:
- Since its conception, the United States has been a refuge for migrants. People of innumerable backgrounds have left the homes they know behind to seek a better life with the “American Dream”. Unfortunately, the American Dream is not always easily achievable for many migrants coming to America. Their path to the American Dream is often hindered by prejudice from people who feel negatively towards outsiders. This negative sentiment can potentially be harnessed by a political leader in favor of their own ideology. In the case of this study, that political leader was Donald Trump. During his candidacy, and throughout his tenure as president, Trump’s nationalistic comments were marked with anti-immigrant rhetoric that seemed to be strongly supported by his followers. Though ridiculed by the media, and seemingly opposed by most world leaders, Trump assumed the Republican nomination and eventual presidency shortly after these comments were made. This study examines that negativity and attempts to measure the impact of Donald Trump’s presidency on attitudes towards immigrants in the 2018 election year. Using GSS survey data from the years 2004-2018, this paper defines the overall trend of attitudes towards immigrants in America, before diving into the effect of the Trump presidency on those attitudes. In future research, comparing the new 2020 data with previous results will be imperative to understanding the impact that the remaining years of Trump’s presidency had on attitudes towards immigrants.