Who Deserves to Stay? Latent Profiles of Public Perceptions of Migrant Deservingness in Turkey

ABSTRACT Migrant deservingness, the criteria by which host populations assess migrants' entitlement to rights, resources and social acceptance, plays a critical role in shaping public opinion on immigration. Drawing on the CARIN framework, this study examines Turkish citizens' attitudes towards immigration through latent profile analysis on 788 participants (52% female, M age = 34.1 SD = 13.6). The analysis identified four attitudinal profiles: Pragmatic Conditionalists, Humanitarians, Cultural Protectionists, and Exclusionists, each reflecting varying levels of support for or opposition to migrants based on perceived deservingness. Further analyses revealed significant differences across profiles in nationalism, religiosity, political ideology, perceived realistic and symbolic threats, social distance, contact quality and affective responses towards migrants. Exclusionists exhibited the highest perceived threats, social distance, and nationalism, whereas Humanitarians displayed the most inclusive attitudes. The findings contribute to immigration attitude research by clarifying how host populations categorise migrants, influencing social cohesion and policy.