Getting the Facts Straight: A Survey Experiment of Crime and Immigration Attitudes

Immigration is at the forefront of the nation’s public policy agenda. Despite research finding the contrary, a primary concern held by some Americans is that immigration increases crime in the United States. The current study embeds an information experiment in a survey of 430 U.S. adults to assess whether fact-based information on the immigration-crime relationship influences attitudes toward immigration and its effect on crime. Results reveal that the presentation of fact-based information reduced negative perceptions toward the immigration-crime relationship only when participants were exposed to the information for 10 seconds or longer. Additionally, geographical, political, and emotional factors shaped attitudes. Policy implications are discussed.