Anti-Hispanic prejudice drives opposition to immigration in the U.S.

Last June, the U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill that would give legal status to 11 million undocumented migrants, but this bill has remained stalled in the House of Representatives, reflecting the anti-immigration sentiments of many Americans. New research from Todd K. Hartman, Benjamin J. Newman, and C. Scott Bell investigates why so many are against immigration reform, and the role played by racial prejudice against Hispanics. Using surveys designed to detect anti-Hispanic prejudice, they find that white Americans react very differently to law-violating behaviors whether they are committed by Hispanic immigrants or not, suggesting a significant and persistent bias against them.