How white middle class social capital can lock immigrants out of more generous state welfare policies

Social capital is often a positive force in communities: it can help connect individuals and help societies run more smoothly. But, it can also work to enforce controls against those who society perceives to be rule-breakers. In new research which examines social capital's role in influencing states' welfare provision, Daniel Hawes and Austin McCrea find that as a state's immigrant population increases, social capital has a negative effect on welfare generosity. The authors write that as many welfare programs have become influenced by discourses about “illegal immigration”, social capital can mobilize the grassroots to oppose more generous welfare policies for immigrants.